‘Fortnite’ Maker Epic Games Is Cutting About 16% of Staff (2)

Epic Games Inc., the maker of the popular Fortnite video game, is laying off 870 employees as it seeks to rein in costs.

“For a while now, we’ve been spending way more money than we earn,” Chief Executive Officer Tim Sweeney wrote to employees in a memo seen by Bloomberg News. “I had long been optimistic that we could power through this transition without layoffs, but in retrospect I see this was unrealistic.”

The job cuts will affect about 16% of the workforce, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named disclosing information that’s ...