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Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, announced that it will lay off around 830 employees, or 16% of its staff, as part of a restructuring plan to achieve profitability and focus on its metaverse ambitions. The company has been losing money for some time and realized that its previous cost-cutting measures were not enough.
The majority of the layoffs will affect non-core teams, such as marketing, customer service, and finance. Epic Games said that none of its core businesses will be impacted by the job cuts, but some product releases may be delayed. The company also said that it will divest Bandcamp, the music platform it bought last year, to Songtradr, and spin off most of SuperAwesome, the kid-safe technology provider it acquired in 2020.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeny expressed his gratitude and regret to the departing employees, who will receive generous severance packages and career support. He also assured that no further layoffs are planned and that the company will continue to hire for critical roles. He said that the changes will help Epic Games stabilize its finances and pursue its vision of becoming a leading metaverse company.