Earlier this week, Epic Games announced it would lay off 1,000 employees after raising the price of V-Bucks to “pay the bills.” Among them were veteran industry talents like Johnny Cash, who worked on the battle pass and quest system, and Vitaliy Naymushin, who designed the face of Fortnite itself. — Jonesy.
But even more chilling was the firing of Mike Prinke, a technical writer and programmer writer who had been with the company since 2019 and was battling terminal brain cancer before being fired. “Now that I am faced with the reality of losing my husband, I am faced with the reality of whether I can afford any type of funeral,” his wife, Jenny Griffin, wrote on Facebook. “How can we keep a roof over our heads? How can we protect our son and the life we have built together? What will happen to our dogs? I truly believe that whoever made this decision would not have intended this outcome if they fully understood the human impact.”
“A microphone is not just a number”
But the man who made the decision, CEO Tim Sweeney, said of the layoffs: “In the future, employers will see once-in-a-lifetime resumes from talented people. […] “It's a safe bet that anyone who says Epic Games on their resume is in the top few percent of their field.”
For Mike Prinke and his family, this is not reassuring. Epic Games explained that those fired would receive extended health benefits through January 2027, a severance package that includes at least four months of base pay, and accelerated stock options, but Jenni claimed Mike lost his life insurance. “And now, because his disease is considered a pre-existing condition, he can’t get new coverage,” she explained.
Mike and Jenni contacted Epic Games' HR department to discuss transition or mobility options, but they claimed “the costs would be prohibitively high, possibly in the thousands of dollars per month, assuming they qualify.” This is not ideal without job security. People have been begging the pair to hold a fundraiser to rally support from the Fortnite community that has rallied behind them over the past 24 hours, but this individual case only highlights the cruelty of these layoffs and how tone-deaf Sweeney (who has a net worth of $5.1 billion) has been in the aftermath.
Jenny said, “Mike is more than just a number. He is a father. He is a husband. He is deeply loved.” Of course, the same goes for everyone else who was laid off this week.
- Establishment date
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January 15, 1991
- subsidiary company
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Psyonix, Mediatonic, ChAIR Entertainment
- headquarters
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Cary, North Carolina, USA
