2023-09-29 08:29:52
Well-known PC game developer Epic Games announced that it will lay off 830 employees. The CEO admitted that the company was unable to make ends meet, and the Metaverse project “Fortnite Creator” that had been entrusted with such an important task was not able to bring in sufficient profits.
(Previous summary: What opportunities does the Metaverse bring to the business world? Take Fortnite Fortress Heroes and Facebook as examples)
(Background supplement: It’s time to honestly face the current situation of the Metaverse)
The development of the Metaverse has received a lot of attention from the industry, and its integration with game development is a forward-looking application that the industry is optimistic about. However, during the transition period, it may be more difficult than imagined.According to Bloomberg’s latest latestreportthe well-known PC game developer Epic Games announced a massive layoff of 830 employees (affecting about 16% of employees).
Epic Games is chronically unable to make ends meet
CEO Tim Sweeney said in a statement to employees:
We had been spending far more than we were making for some time, and I was optimistic that we could make it through this transition period without laying off employees, but looking back, I realize that was unrealistic.
Although it is cutting costs, Epic Games emphasized that this wave of layoffs will not disrupt the development pipeline or core business, including “Fortnite Heroes”, Rocket League, “Fall Beans: Ultimate Knockout”, Unreal Engine (Unreal Engine) and Epic Games Store platform business.
Fortnite Creator’s metaverse project development falls short of expectations
The announcement stated that the company’s recent main growth came from its metaverse project “Fortnite Creator”, but due to low profits, it was unable to achieve financial sustainability. It is understood that the Fortnite Creator program allows players to create and sell their own digital assets in the Fortnite Heroes game, and Epic will distribute 40% of the revenue to creators.
“Fortnite” gave up control of its intellectual property rights, which once seemed incredible to many companies. They hoped to create a new business model by taking a percentage of the transaction fee.
Epic believes that the Metaverse is a virtual world of games + social interaction. If people can dress themselves up as their favorite characters in the virtual world, then I believe many people will be willing to pay for the experience. CEO Tim Sweeney said in 2021:
The Metaverse will be more ubiquitous and powerful than any other industry. If a corporation or corporation took control of the Metaverse, they would become more powerful than any government…
But dreams are full and reality is cruel. Although many companies currently regard the Metaverse as the general direction of future development, there is still a long way to go before sustainable profitability, and the infrastructure is still incomplete. For the Metaverse to really integrate into our lives, more is needed. Time develops.
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