Epic Games recently conducted mass layoffs affecting 1,000 people at the Fortnite studio, and the cuts included the character artist who created Jonesy, one of the most recognizable characters in the game.
Vitaliy Naymushin said on LinkedIn that they were part of the cuts. The developer had worked at Epic Games for more than 11 years. "It's been a wild ride. Lots of ups and downs," the artists wrote. "Seeing Fortnite from pre-launch to today and being a part of making that happen was the experience of a lifetime."
Naymushin created not just Jonesy, but also Ramirez, Penny, and the majority of the game's original cast of characters, he said. He rose up to become the director of character art for Fortnite, and in that role, he hired and onboarded new artists and leads on Fortnite and also personally directed the art for 15 seasons of Fortnite.
Before joining Epic, Naymushin worked at Terminal Reality on Bloodrayne 2, then spent time with Ritual Entertainment on SiN Episodes. He joined id Software in 2006 and worked on Rage, before leaving to become a character artist at Blizzard where he worked on the canceled MMO Titan, along with Diablo 3 and Overwatch.
Explaining the cuts, Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney said Fortnite has experienced a downturn in engagement since 2025, which has resulted in a situation where the developer is "spending significantly more than we're making." Epic also announced a $500 million cost-savings plan that will see cuts to contract work and marketing. Epic will also close some open roles.
Epic also announced that it was shutting down or scaling back several projects, including Rocket Racing, Ballistic, and Festival Battle Stage. What's more, Epic recently raised V-Bucks prices to "help pay the bills."
Affected staffers are getting at least four months of severance pay, along with healthcare coverage that extends for six months in the US. After the 1,000 cuts, Epic Games will have about 4,000 workers on staff, a spokesperson told Game File.
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Vitaliy Naymushin said on LinkedIn that they were part of the cuts. The developer had worked at Epic Games for more than 11 years. "It's been a wild ride. Lots of ups and downs," the artists wrote. "Seeing Fortnite from pre-launch to today and being a part of making that happen was the experience of a lifetime."
Naymushin created not just Jonesy, but also Ramirez, Penny, and the majority of the game's original cast of characters, he said. He rose up to become the director of character art for Fortnite, and in that role, he hired and onboarded new artists and leads on Fortnite and also personally directed the art for 15 seasons of Fortnite.
Before joining Epic, Naymushin worked at Terminal Reality on Bloodrayne 2, then spent time with Ritual Entertainment on SiN Episodes. He joined id Software in 2006 and worked on Rage, before leaving to become a character artist at Blizzard where he worked on the canceled MMO Titan, along with Diablo 3 and Overwatch.
Explaining the cuts, Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney said Fortnite has experienced a downturn in engagement since 2025, which has resulted in a situation where the developer is "spending significantly more than we're making." Epic also announced a $500 million cost-savings plan that will see cuts to contract work and marketing. Epic will also close some open roles.
Epic also announced that it was shutting down or scaling back several projects, including Rocket Racing, Ballistic, and Festival Battle Stage. What's more, Epic recently raised V-Bucks prices to "help pay the bills."
Affected staffers are getting at least four months of severance pay, along with healthcare coverage that extends for six months in the US. After the 1,000 cuts, Epic Games will have about 4,000 workers on staff, a spokesperson told Game File.
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