Epic Games has announced that it has laid off 1,000 employees from the company due to a “downturn in Fortnite engagement.” Additionally, it has also announced that several Fortnite modes will go offline in the coming weeks and months.
In a statement, Tim Sweeney explains that the decision is due to the company “spending significantly more than [its] making.” He also states that Epic has struggled to deliver consistently great experiences in each season of Fortnite, and the numerous industry-wide challenges also factored in to the layoff. Sweeney emphasizes that the layoffs have nothing to do with AI. Further, he elaborates on the company’s next steps:
“What we now need to do is clear: build awesome Fortnite experiences with fresh seasonal content, gameplay, story, and live events; accelerate developer tools with greater stability and capability as we evolve from Unreal Engine 5 and UEFN to Unreal Engine 6. And we’ll be kicking off the next generation of Epic with huge launch plans towards the end of the year.”
Epic Games also announced that Fortnite Ballistic and Festival Battle Stage will go offline on April 16. In October 2026, Fortnite Rocket Racing will also go offline. The layoffs come just a few weeks after Epic raised the prices of Fortnite V-Bucks. The new prices are as follows:
| Pack | Previous | New | With Epic Rewards |
| $8.99 Pack | 1,000 V-Bucks | 800 V-Bucks | +$1.79 back |
| $22.99 Pack | 2,800 V-Bucks | 2,400 V-Bucks | +$4.59 back |
| $36.99 Pack | 5,000 V-Bucks | 4,500 V-Bucks | +$7.39 back |
| $89.99 Pack | 13,500 V-Bucks | 12,500 V-Bucks | +$17.99 back |
| Exact Amount Pack | ~$0.50* for 50 V-Bucks | $0.99* for 50 V-Bucks |
Lastly, Fortnite is available now on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, iOS, Android, and PC.
