Epic Video games not too long ago carried out mass layoffs affecting 1,000 folks on the Fortnite studio, and the cuts included the character artist who created Jonesy, one of the vital recognizable characters within the sport.
Vitaliy Naymushin said on LinkedIn that they had been a part of the cuts. The developer had labored at Epic Video games for greater than 11 years. “It has been a wild journey. A lot of ups and downs,” the artists wrote. “Seeing Fortnite from pre-launch to right this moment and being part of making that occur was the expertise of a lifetime.”
Naymushin created not simply Jonesy, but in addition Ramirez, Penny, and nearly all of the sport’s authentic forged of characters, he stated. He rose as much as change into the director of character artwork for Fortnite, and in that function, he employed and onboarded new artists and leads on Fortnite and in addition personally directed the artwork for 15 seasons of Fortnite.
Earlier than becoming a member of Epic, Naymushin labored at Terminal Actuality on Bloodrayne 2, then hung out with Ritual Leisure on SiN Episodes. He joined id Software program in 2006 and labored on Rage, earlier than leaving to change into a personality artist at Blizzard the place he labored on the canceled MMO Titan, together with Diablo 3 and Overwatch.
Explaining the cuts, Epic Video games boss Tim Sweeney stated Fortnite has skilled a downturn in engagement since 2025, which has resulted in a state of affairs the place the developer is “spending considerably greater than we’re making.” Epic additionally introduced a $500 million cost-savings plan that may see cuts to contract work and advertising and marketing. Epic may also shut some open roles.
Epic additionally introduced that it was shutting down or scaling again a number of initiatives, together with Rocket Racing, Ballistic, and Pageant Battle Stage. What’s extra, Epic not too long ago raised V-Bucks costs to “assist pay the payments.”
Affected staffers are getting a minimum of 4 months of severance pay, together with healthcare protection that extends for six months within the US. After the 1,000 cuts, Epic Video games could have about 4,000 staff on workers, a spokesperson informed Game File.