Epic Games is preparing to lay off some of its employees. Tim Sweeney, the company’s CEO, announced that the company would lay off about 830 employees, or 16% of its workforce. “For some time now we have spent much more money than we earn,” the manager acknowledged in a note addressed to employees to justify this wave of departures.
According to him, Epic’s recent growth is mainly due to the Fortnite Creator program, which allows players to create and sell their own in-game content. Epic gives 40% of its revenue to creators, which Tim Sweeney says is “a small number.” margin business” than the other Fortnite revenue streams.
Although some of them, such as the purchase of “skins” to customize characters, have allowed the company to grow rapidly, the lower profits currently obtained no longer allow it to maintain Tim Sweeney’s current size.
A fundamental trend in the video game industry
The executive also said in his email that 250 more people would leave Epic Games through two sessions: the sale of the music site Bandcamp, acquired by Epic last year, as well as a spin-off of the SuperAwesome marketing company owned by ‘Epic. since 2020.
Like the tech industry as a whole, the year was filled with layoffs in the video game sector. Last month, Swedish conglomerate Embracer Group AB closed the doors of the Volition studio following the licensing. Row of saints.
Another example: Niantic. The developer of Pokémon Go announced in June that it would close its Los Angeles studio and cancel future productions as part of a restructuring that cost it 230 jobs, or about 25% of its staff. The job market in the video game sector seems tighter than ever.
Source: BFM TV
