Epic Games is reportedly laying off 900 employees, 16% of its workforce. In a memo from Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, the layoffs will be from Bandcamp and SuperAwesome. Sweeney also commented that the company will focus more on Fornite content and other codenamed projects. ”For a while now, we’ve been spending way more money than we earn, investing in the next evolution of Epic and growing Fortnite as a metaverse-inspired ecosystem for creators. I had long been optimistic that we could power through this transition without layoffs, but in retrospect I see that this was unrealistic.”Fortnite remains one of the world’s most played games based on store rankings on game consoles. Epic also announced the price of V-Bucks, Fortnite’s in-game currency, is going up this October. 2800 V-Bucks will now cost $22.99 as opposed to the previous price of $19.99. The Unreal Engine also made by Epic Games is one of the most popular game design engines in the industry. Fortnite users now can create content within Fortnite using a version of Unreal.

While 2023 has been host to many incredible games, there have been widespread layoffs in the gaming industry this year. From Embracer Group, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and now Epic Games. What do you think of the recent layoffs in the industry in comparison to many game releases this year. Let me know in the comments! Also I’d like to wish all of the people best wishes at finding a new job. Hopefully those displaced by these sudden and rampant layoffs will land on their feet.