Epic Video games has introduced it’s going to “resolve” the insurance coverage protection of a former Fortnite worker with terminal most cancers, following widespread criticism of the corporate’s resolution to fireside the previous Fortnite worker.
Mike Prinke, a programmer who labored at Epic Video games for seven years, was one in every of many employees members caught up in Epic Video games’ current mass layoffs, which resulted in additional than 1,000 workers shedding their jobs.
Plinke additionally has terminal mind most cancers, which his spouse, Jenny, helped reveal on-line after he misplaced his life insurance coverage. The state of affairs shortly sparked additional fan outrage over the layoffs, prompting a response from Epic Video games president Tim Sweeney, who mentioned the corporate is at present “involved with the household to resolve insurance coverage issues.”
βMy husband Mike was just lately laid off together with over 1,000 different folks at Epic Video games,β she wrote in a Fb put up. “What makes this totally different for our household is that Mike is at present battling terminal mind most cancers. Because of the layoff, not solely have we misplaced our revenue, however we now have additionally misplaced his life insurance coverage. And since his situation is now thought of a pre-existing situation, we’re unable to buy new insurance coverage.”
“So now I am going through the fact of shedding my husband… I am additionally going through the fact of what sort of funeral and burial we are able to afford. How will we hold our head above water? How will we shield our son and the life we ββconstructed collectively? What occurs to our canine… Mike is greater than only a quantity. He is a father, he is a husband, he is a beloved human being… We’re working out of time. I am doing all the pieces in my energy to guard my household.”
In a touch upon his put up, Plinke’s spouse, Jenny, mentioned he had been exploring “life insurance coverage conversion and portability choices,” however they had been costly, “working into 1000’s of {dollars} a month.” On Twitter/X, many Fortnite followers began sharing the state of affairs, which in the end led to Sweeney responding.
“Epic has been involved with the household and might be figuring out insurance coverage for them,” Sweeney responded to BackersGamesF through a put up on X/Twitter. “Medical info is extremely confidential, and that was not an element on this termination resolution. We apologize to everybody for not recognizing this very distressing state of affairs and never being proactive about it.”
Sweeney introduced the layoffs final week and mentioned Epic was reacting to a decline in curiosity in Fortnite beginning in 2025, however analysts instructed videogameaddicted {that a} decline within the variety of gamers taking part in the sport’s veteran battle royale is simply one of many points. The corporate has been engaged in pricey authorized battles with Apple and Google for years, funding the Epic Video games Retailer, which seeks to compete with Steam. After which there’s Roblox’s explosive progress, and Fortnite is at present far behind it. Many followers really feel it was Epic Video games’ personal employees who paid the worth, however those that stay on the firm say they don’t know what Fortnite will do past the second half of this 12 months now that almost 1 / 4 of the corporate’s employees has left.
Sweeney beforehand commented on the layoffs to emphasise the standard of the folks his firm had simply let go, saying that following Epic’s layoffs, “employers are going to see a once-in-a-lifetime flood of resumes from nice folks.” “What’s necessary to know is that Epic by no means lowered its hiring requirements because it grew, and these layoffs weren’t what the corporate has just lately referred to as a performance-based ‘rightsizing,'” he concluded. “You probably have Epic Video games in your resume, it is a protected wager that you just’re within the prime few % of your subject.”
Tom Phillips is videogameaddicted’s information editor. You possibly can contact Tom at tom_phillips@videogameaddicted.com or discover him on Bluesky. @tomphillipseg.bsky.social