Epic Games Cuts 1,000 Jobs, Cary Headquarters Loses 211 Positions

Epic Games, the Cary-based maker of Fortnite, laid off 1,000 workers and plans to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs as it grapples with a downturn in sales. In a letter to state officials on Tuesday, the company said it would permanently lay off at least 211 workers assigned to its Cary headquarters, including artists, engineers, programmers and designers. The single most affected role at the Cary office was senior tester, with 37 positions eliminated there.

The Fortnite engagement downturn that started in 2025 left Epic spending significantly more than it was making, forcing major cuts to keep the company funded, CEO Tim Sweeney wrote in a March 24 memo to employees. The layoff, together with over $500 million of identified cost savings in contracting, marketing, and closing some open roles, is intended to put the company in a more stable place. Sweeney cited industry-wide headwinds: slower growth, weaker spending, tougher cost economics, current consoles selling less than last generation's, and games competing for time against other increasingly engaging forms of entertainment.

Epic said it has 4,000 employees after Tuesday's layoffs, which amount to about 20% of the company's workforce. The company's last large-scale layoffs were in 2023, when it cut 830 jobs. In that prior round, 170 of those cuts fell in the Triangle. This is Epic's second mass jobs cut in three years.

Monika Fahlbusch, an Epic human resources executive, wrote to state Department of Commerce officials: "We are mindful of the difficulties that this layoff poses to employees and the community." The letter was sent to comply with a federal law that requires companies to notify officials of mass layoffs at least 60 days in advance of certain reductions.

"At Epic, we pride ourselves in only hiring the industry's best, so it is very painful to part with so many talented people," Sweeney wrote. Affected employees will receive a severance package that includes at least four months of base pay, with more based on tenure. Epic is also extending paid healthcare coverage, including six months of paid coverage for U.S. employees, and will accelerate stock options vesting through January 2027 while extending equity exercise options for up to two years.

Sweeney was explicit that the layoffs are not related to AI, noting that to the extent it improves productivity, Epic wants to have "as many awesome developers developing great content and tech as we can."

Epic had ambitiously bought the former Cary Towne Center mall for a future headquarters that has yet to materialize. The company was founded in 1991 by Sweeney and moved its headquarters to Cary in 1999. Fortnite, released in 2017, has generated over $20 billion in total gross revenue since launch.

The cuts land during a particularly difficult stretch for Cary's game development community. The announcement came on the heels of cuts at another video-game developer in Cary. Last week, Red Storm Entertainment said it planned to eliminate 105 jobs at its Cary headquarters. In a letter to state officials, Red Storm said it planned to permanently lay off designers, artists, engineers and other employees, citing "economic forces," and said it is ceasing game development while retaining some engine development employees. Red Storm notified the North Carolina Department of Commerce listing 105 affected workers at its Cary office at 3001 Weston Parkway.

Sweeney acknowledged in the memo that "market conditions today are the most extreme we've seen since those early days, with massive upheaval in the industry accompanied by massive opportunity for the companies that come out as winners on the other side." He outlined the company's path forward: building Fortnite experiences with fresh seasonal content, gameplay, story, and live events; accelerating developer tools as Epic evolves from Unreal Engine 5 and UEFN toward Unreal Engine 6; and kicking off the next generation of Epic with major launch plans toward the end of the year.