The expert drew attention to the studio after the reduction of more than a thousand employees. The situation was aggravated by the story of a seriously ill employee, against the background of which the company had to urgently correct public opinion. The analyst questions Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney's statements that the layoffs are not related to AI.
Dreunen believes that companies outside the United States are already actively exploring generative AI and looking for ways to use it, while Epic has not yet achieved noticeable results in this.
He also points to external factors: the rising cost of living and the imbalance of platform holders' rights, which reduces Epic's profits and increases costs due to legal expenses.
Empires don't collapse immediately... They collapse from within, gradually, until one day the walls fall, and everyone is surprised. We are somewhere in the middle of this process now.
According to the analyst, this is a painful assessment for Epic, but the studio will have to adapt to maintain Fortnite and the interest of players.