The Epic Games layoffs are the last straw for developers who are making their feelings about the industry known. Many have taken to Twitter to decry the “corporate greed” that they feel runs rampant in game development.
On September 29, 2023, Fortnite developer Epic Games announced via an internal memo that it would be laying off 16% of its entire workforce. Approximately 830 employees have lost their jobs according to initial reports from Bloomberg.
In the memo, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeny cited a financial misreading of Fortnite’s Creative 2.0 content which he called “lower margin business” than the game’s other revenue streams. Ultimately Sweeny said, “We’ve been spending way more money than we earn”.
The news shocked the games development industry despite a wave of layoffs from EA, Unity, Firaxis, Take-Two, CD Projekt RED, Riot, and FaZe in 2023 alone. Video game creatives have had enough and have been venting their frustration at the precarious state of the industry.
If you fuck up badly enough that nine hundred of your own employees lose their jobs, you should be laid off too
— Jordan DeVries (@theastralj) September 28, 2023
Game developers sound off on Epic Games layoffs
Level Designer for Crystal Dynamics Kolby Payne lamented that a massively profitable field could be so volatile. “It’s f**king sad that there is zero job security in our industry that brings in about $180 billion a year,” Payne Tweeted.
“This is what makes me genuinely despair about working in games. Nothing will ever be enough,” WB Games Montreal’s Mitch Dyer replied. “No amount of exploitative design, hostile microtransaction economies, or live service success will ever guarantee you can keep the job that created the wealth.”
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The comments of these posts were filled with calls for “category-wide” unionization across the games development industry. These were met with frequent references to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
Many developers and their followers are baffled at the stark contrast of 2023 in video games. In a year that saw the release of Baldur’s Gate 3, Starfield, Tears of the Kingdom, Octopath Traveler 2, and more, there have been more layoffs than any other year in the history of the industry.
There's something messed up about 2023 being one of the absolute best years for video games but one of the worst for video game creators.
— Shinobi602 (@shinobi602) September 28, 2023
Many other industry figures have reached out in solidarity with the employees who have been laid off at Epic Games. A number of people have been Tweeting job availabilities and hirers have been asking those affected to contact them.
In an official statement within the initial memo, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeny said that there would be no further layoffs at the company. “These changes financially stabilize the business,” he confirmed.