SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Epic Games cut dozens of jobs in the Bay Area last month, according to state filings last week. Back in March, the maker of the popular Fortnite video game announced it was laying off over 1,000 employees.
At the time, the company cited a downturn in engagement with Fortnite that started in 2025, resulting in the company “spending significantly more than we’re making.” Major cuts were necessary to keep the company funded, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney explained in a memo to employees.
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A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filed with the California Employment Development Department now indicates the March layoffs impacted dozens of Bay Area workers. In Marin County, Epic cut 16 jobs at its Larkspur Landing location.
This illustration picture shows a person waiting for an update of Epic Games’ Fortnite on their smartphone in Los Angeles on August 14, 2020. – Apple and Google on August 13, 2020 pulled video game sensation Fortnite from their mobile app shops after its maker Epic Games released an update that dodges revenue sharing with the tech giants. (Photo by Chris DELMAS / AFP) (Photo by CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)
Epic, which is headquarters in Cary, North Carolina, also laid off 28 remote employees in San Francisco. Outside of the Bay Area, the March layoffs also saw Epic cut 61 remote workers in Los Angeles and 2 remote workers in El Segundo.
However, unlike many of the recent layoffs we’ve seen in the tech industry, the Epic layoffs are not related to artificial intelligence, according to Sweeney.
“Since it’s a thing now, I should note that the layoffs aren’t related to AI,” he said. “To the extent it improves productivity, we want to have as many awesome developers developing great content as we can.”