The company has no other choice
The company is laying off 830 employees, or about 16% of its workforce. The layoffs come amid Epic’s ongoing legal battle with Apple, which began back in 2020.
Just this week, Epic Games asked the Supreme Court to hear the case. Epic Games is trying to portray Apple as a monopoly and wants to be able to sell digital skins and other products to Apple customers without having to pay Apple a cut.
As a result of the legal dispute, Fortnite has not been available in Apple’s app stores for several years now, and those who want to play the game on an iPhone or iPad must look for alternative ways to do so, such as web platforms.
This is what can happen if you sue Apple for a long time
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said in a memo sent to employees and posted on the company’s website that the company is “spending far more money than it makes on Fortnite development” and other cost-cutting efforts have “proven to be far from financially sustainable.”
Sweeney says layoffs are the only way to stabilize the company’s finances. Employees will be provided with severance pay that includes six months of base salary and six months of paid health care.
As for the fight against Apple, Sweeney claims that Epic Games is taking steps to reduce legal costs, but will continue legal battles so that “the metaverse can thrive and empower Epic and all other developers.”
