Epic Games has laid off over 1,000 employees, and learning that Jonesy’s creator was among them has shocked Fortnite fans. Fortnite launched the Battle Royale game mode in 2017 due to the genre’s increase in popularity, and it was an immediate success. Even though Save the World was supposed to be the main mode, Battle Royale quickly overtook it and became the developer’s focus, as it was the game’s primary source of players and, consequently, income. As the years went by, Fortnite grew further and reached incredible heights. The game collaborated with increasingly bigger names and franchises, and player numbers hit record after record, turning the battle royale into a global phenomenon.
Gaming has become an increasingly popular hobby over the years. As a consequence, the market is incredibly competitive at this point, and even free-to-play games can have a hard time attracting potential players’ interest. And even if they do, they can have a hard time keeping players entertained for long. Chapter 7 Season 2 is Fortnite‘s 36th full season. While some fans continue to return to the game after all this time, many don’t spend as many hours playing it. Players have complained that Epic Games focuses too much on collabs nowadays, new Fortnite skins aren’t as exciting as the original designs, the storyline has become too complicated to follow, and themes have been reused one too many times and gotten old. Additionally, battle royales just aren’t as popular as they were back in 2017.
Fortnite is Officially Shutting Down 3 Game Modes
Following an announcement of major layoffs at Epic Games, Fortnite confirms that three different game modes are officially shutting down.
Fortnite Lays Off Jonesy Character Artist
Regardless of the various factors that might have caused players to lose interest in Fortnite, numbers are down. Tim Sweeney, the founder of Epic Games, has reported that, at this point in time, the company is spending more than it’s making, and this has led to massive layoffs, which include Vitaliy Naymushin, the artist who created Jonesy and several other well-known characters in Fortnite. Naymushin had been with Epic Games since January 2015, and after 11 years of service, he was let go in March 2026. According to his LinkedIn profile, Naymushin “created majority of the original cast of characters” in Fortnite. Jonesy and Ramirez stand out, as they’ve been the face of Fortnite since day one, but Penny and Kyle, well-known Save the World heroes, are some of his other memorable creations.
Vitaliy Naymushin’s Original Characters
- Jonesy
- Ramirez
- Penny
- Kyle
Players were shocked when they learned that such an important artist in Fortnite‘s development was laid off after accompanying the game from its pre-launch stage to Chapter 7 Season 2. Mike Jones, a senior gameplay designer who introduced key features, such as the tactical spring, stamina, sliding, mantling, and hurdling, was also let go after working with Epic for eight years. Dozens of crucial Fortnite devs left the company as part of the Epic Games layoffs. Coworkers have started a Google Form that lists all of those who were affected by the layoffs in order to make it easier for them to find a job in their area of specialty.
Gamers are grieving alongside the former employees and the current employees who have lost many on their work teams. Many are worried about the direction in which Epic Games is headed, as it has fired a fifth of its workforce. Recently, Epic Games announced that it would be making modifications to the V-Buck packs in Fortnite and changing the prices of its passes. As a result, many fans are boycotting Epic Games by not purchasing V-Bucks or playing the new season. It is unknown if this will make a difference, but at least it shows off how displeased fans are with Epic Games’ recent marketing and management choices.
- Released
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September 26, 2017
- ESRB
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T for Teen – Diverse Content: Discretion Advised, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
