The mass layoffs at Epic Games are just the latest in a devastating industry trend which has seen tens of thousands of workers lose their jobs in the last few years. While statements from CEOs or other executives are expected in such circumstances, they’re often wielded awkwardly in an attempt to soften the blow of hundreds of people’s livelihoods being taken from them. Sweeney’s note to Epic employees is sadly reminiscent of Phil Spencer’s insulting letter following layoffs at Xbox last year, leveraging the moment in a misguided attempt to score some odd PR points.
Over 1,000 Laid Off, “Despite Fortnite Remaining One Of The Most Successful Games In The World”
Epic Games published this note from CEO Tim Sweeney, which “was sent to Epic employees today.” It is partly an explanation for the company’s decision to cut over 1,000 jobs, and specifically cites “the downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025,” but quickly turns into the distasteful corporate affirmations that so many such memos become. Most off-putting is Sweeney’s attempt at positioning Epic Games, the company, as a victim in some righteous fight.
“In being the industry’s vanguard,” Sweeney writes, “we have taken a lot of bullets in a battle which is only in the early days of paying off for ourselves and all developers.” Here he seems to be referencing Epic Games’ lawsuits against Apple and Google, which, very broadly speaking, aimed to allow developers to circumvent restrictions on in-app purchases and the revenue cuts digital storefront owners receive from them.
Epic’s stated altruistic goals are generally admirable, but let’s not forget that said lawsuits were primarily in the interest of profiting more efficiently from the mobile ports of Fortnite. To bring this up in a defensive manner while laying off more than 1,000 workers is galling, especially because those referenced developers include the ones who just lost their jobs. If lawsuits are expensive, so too is a CEO whose estimated net worth is approaching $10 billion.
The tone-deaf asides continue with Sweeney recounting similarly tumultuous periods in the gaming industry. He boasts that three times – in the 1990s, 2000s, and in 2012 – Epic Games “rebuilt [its] foundations and earned a renewed leadership position.” (2012 is specifically mentioned as Epic’s big shift into online gaming with the development of Paragon, a MOBA that floundered for two years in early access before being canceled.) What began as an explanation of the market conditions that necessitated these layoffs has turned into a quasi-promo statement for the studio itself.
Sweeney’s note similarly continues by framing the industry’s “massive upheaval” as a “massive opportunity for the companies that come out as winners on the other side.” Epic Games’ routine cost-cutting measures from the bottom up will not be comforting to those who are now jobless. Those who have been thrust into a crisis likely aren’t interested in Sweeney’s trite mission “to bring other like-minded developers in the industry along on the journey to build an increasingly open and vibrant future of entertainment together.”
Sweeney’s Note Is Insultingly Off-Topic & Filled With Corporate Speak
If it weren’t so frustrating, it would almost be impressive how close Sweeney came to writing a tactful note on the layoffs before tarnishing it with such bizarre rallying cries. Sweeney’s statement begins with a very straightforward explanation of the difficulties Epic Games is facing – i.e., the reasons given for the layoffs – and ends with a welcome reassurance that those affected will receive due severance, including extended healthcare coverage.
There must surely be a more opportune time to pander to investors and try to rebuild confidence than in the note where you’re informing your employees that one in five of their coworkers are about to be laid off. In fact, Sweeney offers one himself: “We’ll have a company meeting Thursday to talk about the roadmap in more detail.” Layoffs are sadly a common part of our profit-over-everything capitalist system, and they’re hard enough to swallow without a CEO trying to simultaneously lionize their company.
It’s disrespectful to those who have been laid off, and it’s disrespectful to those who remain employed; such sweeping layoffs affect everyone at Epic Games, to varying degrees. It doesn’t help anyone to wax philosophical about the company’s aims in a layoff notice – we’re fighting the good fight, but we can no longer afford your salary. We can afford Tim Sweeney’s, though.
It’s one thing to release a failed game and have your studio close. It’s another to develop a successful game and still get laid off. It’s beyond insulting to be reminded that your company made the most successful video game phenomenon of the last decade and that your employment being terminated is just collateral damage in an industry downswing. But don’t worry, your notice from the Epic Games CEO was at least thoughtful enough to celebrate those very expensive lawsuits the company won.