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Last week, you may recall that Fortnite creator 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Epic Games made the news by 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:announcing mass layoffs. Around 830 people lost their jobs that day, which makes up roughly 16 percent of the entire company's workforce. Epic justified the layoffs by admitting that the company had been "spending way more money than we earn" in trying to turn Fortnite into a "Metaverse-inspired ecosystem", claiming that revenue sharing with content creators doesn't make as much cash as when Fortnite originally took off.
Turns out there may be a reason for that, as Epic revealed just how much money Fortnite map creators have been getting at a panel at this year's Unreal Fest event. According to Epic Games, the generous revenue share has meant that over 13,000 worldwide Fortnite map creators have received a total of $120 million since March 2023, meaning the company has dished out some serious cash in the space of just 7 months.
The Bust And Boom Cycle Of The Gaming 🍷Industry Will De♊stroy It
Chasing unsustainable growth has led to mass layoffs across the entire industry🌄 this year. Epic is far from the first.
Of course, that amount of cash isn't that much when you consider Epic is estimated to make $4.4 billion this year, but gleefully announcing on stage that you've doled out so much money to Fortnite map creators just days after having laid off hundreds of employees is not a good look. If anything, this should be cause for concern, as it implies that Epic is trying to gets fans to do the work of regular employees without the benefits that a contract for a big developer would bring, such as potential health benefits or a dedicated pay day.
To make matters even worse, Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney took to the stage shortly after this massive number was announced, specifically addressing the layoffs to mention how necessary they were in order for the company to continue turning Fortnite in the "Metaverse-inspired" platform that he desperately wants it to be. He also admitted that Epic's products may see reduced quality due to the layoffs, and apologised in advance for any issues that may arise.
It's been a pretty horrid year for the games industry, even outside Epic Games being needlessly callous at Unreal Fest. We've seen several developers cancel projects and lay off employees, with Naughty Dog and Sega being the most recent examples due to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:developmenඣt💝 issues with The Last of Us Factions and 168澳洲幸运5开𝄹奖网:now-cance💫lled multiplayer shooter Hyenas respectively. Publishers invested too heavily in live service, but it's their employees that are being punished for it.
Hopefully, things will improve soon, but I have a sneaking feeling that things are only going to get worse before they get better. Here's hoping that everyone affected by this year's mass layoffs finds work elsewhere pretty soon.