Epic Video games Sells Possession of Bandcamp, Resulting in Layoffs

Epic Video games has slashed 16% of its workforce, additionally promoting Bandcamp, which the corporate acquired in March 2022. On Thursday (September 28), the Fortnite developer introduced that 830 workers would not be concerned with the corporate, promoting Bandcamp to music licensing platform Songtradr. Epic Video games’ youngsters digital promoting enterprise, SuperAwesome, may also grow to be an unbiased model beneath its personal property.

“For some time now, we’ve been spending far more cash than we earn, investing within the subsequent evolution of Epic and rising Fortnite as a metaverse-inspired ecosystem for creators,” wrote Epic CEO Tim Sweeney. “I had lengthy been optimistic that we may energy by way of this transition with out layoffs, however on reflection I see that this was unrealistic.”

Sweeney continued, “The expansion is pushed primarily by creator content material with vital income sharing, and it is a lower-margin enterprise than we had when Fortnite Battle Royale took off and commenced funding our growth. Success with the creator ecosystem is a superb achievement, nevertheless it means a significant structural change to our economics.”

In a separate assertion, Songtradr stated it “will proceed to function Bandcamp as a market and music neighborhood with an artist-first income share.” The information of the acquisition obtained an outcry on social media from unbiased music artists and followers, some with issues in regards to the continuation of Bandcamp Friday, which started in 2020.

In 2022, Bandcamp and Epic Video games merged to “construct out a creator market ecosystem for content material, expertise, video games, artwork, music and extra,” additionally sustaining its on-line music database.