Epic Games Lays Off Over 800 Employees as Apple Legal Battle Drags On

Epic Games, the company behind popular video game Fortnite, is laying off 830 employees or approximately 16 percent of its workforce. The layoffs come amid Epic's ongoing legal battle with Apple, which started way back in 2020.

Just this week, ‌Epic Games‌ asked the Supreme Court to hear the case, a request that follows two major losses and likely hundreds of thousands or more in legal fees. ‌Epic Games‌ has been trying to paint Apple as a monopolist, and it wants to be able to sell digital skins and other goods to Apple customers without having to pay a cut to Apple.

As a result of the legal dispute, Fortnite has been unavailable from Apple's App Stores for several years now, and those who want to play the game on the iPhone or iPad must seek alternate means to do so, such as web-based platforms.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney in a memo sent out to employees and shared on the company's website said that it has been "spending way more money" than it earns to grow Fortnite, and other efforts to cut costs have "ended up far short of financial sustainability."

Sweeney says that layoffs are the only way to stabilize the company's finances. Employees will be provided with severance that includes six months of base pay and six months of paid healthcare.

As for the fight against Apple, Sweeney claims that ‌Epic Games‌ is taking steps to cut down on legal expenses, but will continue on with its legal battles so the "metaverse can thrive and bring opportunity to Epic and all other developers."