Epic Video games has introduced it should “resolve” the insurance coverage protection of a former Fortnite worker with terminal most cancers, following widespread criticism of the corporate’s determination to fireside the previous Fortnite worker.
Mike Prinke, a programmer who labored at Epic Video games for seven years, was one among many employees members caught up in Epic Video games’ current mass layoffs, which resulted in additional than 1,000 staff 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 scenario rapidly sparked additional fan outrage over the layoffs, prompting a response from Epic Video games president Tim Sweeney, who stated the corporate is at present “in touch 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 completely 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-about a pre-existing situation, we’re unable to buy new insurance coverage.”
“So now I am dealing with the truth of shedding my husband… I am additionally dealing with the truth of what sort of funeral and burial we will afford. How can we hold our head above water? How can we defend 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 operating out of time. I am doing every little thing in my energy to guard my household.”
In a touch upon his put up, Plinke’s spouse, Jenny, stated he had been exploring “life insurance coverage conversion and portability choices,” however they had been costly, “operating into hundreds of {dollars} a month.” On Twitter/X, many Fortnite followers began sharing the scenario, which in the end led to Sweeney responding.
“Epic has been in touch with the household and can be understanding insurance coverage for them,” Sweeney responded to BackersGamesF through a put up on X/Twitter. “Medical info is very confidential, and that was not an element on this termination determination. We apologize to everybody for not recognizing this very distressing scenario and never being proactive about it.”
Sweeney introduced the layoffs final week and stated 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 expensive 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 just about 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 essential to grasp 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. “When you have Epic Video games in your resume, it is a protected guess that you simply’re within the prime few p.c 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