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Opinion - Fortnite's heart died today ✏️
"I’ll miss [working on] Fortnite Battle Royale," one Epic employee said after being laid off.
It’s estimated that over 1,000 workers - roughly a quarter of Epic Games’ workforce - were laid off today. In the coming days, there will be many questions about Fortnite’s future. A future that will almost certainly look different without so many of the people who helped build it.
Just to name a few:
- Christopher Pope, a Battle Royale Design Director, said they’ll “miss Fortnite Battle Royale, but I’ll miss you all most of all.” In the replies, another employee said Pope had been making plans for the future of BR “mere moments” before being laid off.
- Evan Kinney, the principal engineer behind Fortnite’s earliest live events, Replay Mode, and systems like the Rivalry feature.
- Paige Dugre, art producer for Chapter 6 Season 3, the Simpsons mini-season, Chapter 7 Season 2, and collaborations like KPop Demon Hunters.
Earlier this month, Jonah Kettman, a QA engineer on Fortnite Festival, defended Epic’s decision to raise V-Bucks prices, noting that “the quickest way to lower expenses is layoffs.” Kettman was laid off today—less than a week after paying a $4,000 vet bill for their cat.
- Devin Connors, a community manager at Psyonix, widely respected within the Rocket League community.
- Nik Blahunka, a lead writer behind many of Fortnite’s defining stories since 2017.
- Vitaliy Naymushin, character art director who helped shape icons like Jonesy, Ramirez, Penny, and Kyle.
Fortnite is the people behind it. And today, many of those people are gone.
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