Epic Games just laid off 1,000 employees, citing the downturn in Fortnite engagement as a big reason for it. The battle royale game still draws millions of people every day, but it’s no longer as popular as it was before. As a result, Epic is spending more money than it is making.

Fortnite peaked at only 2.8 million concurrent players in 2026, which is much lower than the peak of previous years. This also means that the game is no longer as profitable, which is why Epic is also removing two game modes in April.

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Fortnite is a big reason why Epic Games laid off 1,000 employees

The popularity of Fortnite has been quite inconsistent over the past few years. It appears that the shift toward creator-made maps wasn’t the right move for Epic, as the video game is no longer as profitable as it was in the past. While the development of the Battle Royale mode has remained strong for more than eight years, the game developer will have to change a few things to make Fortnite viable in the future.

“Today we’re laying off over 1000 Epic employees. I’m sorry we’re here again. The downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025 means we’re spending significantly more than we’re making, and we have to make major cuts to keep the company funded,” Epic Games posted in a statement. “This layoff, together with over $500 million of identified cost savings in contracting, marketing, and closing some open roles puts us in a more stable place.”

The company also added that some of the challenges are industry-wide, such as slower growth and weaker spending.

Epic clarified that Fortnite remains one of the most successful games in the world. Furthermore, the company emphasized that Fortnite will keep getting seasonal updates and content, as well as a shift to Unreal Engine 6 in the future.

While the Fortnite boycott hasn’t been quite successful, as the player count is more or less the same as it was in early Chapter 7, Epic may have expected more from the latest season. Unfortunately, the core battle royale experience is no longer as popular, as it was even surpassed by some creator maps. Will Epic figure out the issue and restore Fortnite to its former glory? That’s a big question that should be answered by the end of the year.

With the v40.20 update, Fortnite will remove three major game modes, including part of the Festival experience. We expect more cuts in the future, as the company will focus on the core of Fortnite, which are battle royale modes.

This is the second time in a bit over two years that Epic Games has laid off employees. Back in September 2023, the company cut approximately 16% of its staff, which was over 800 jobs.