Episode 92 - Epic Games Lays Off Over 800 Employees

Gamers Week Podcast

Epic Games has announced its laying off roughly 16% of its workforce, resulting in around 830 employees losing their jobs. Epic president Tim Sweeney states that these departures will not come at the expense of game development and that Epic will still be hiring for “critical roles.” We discuss this mass layoff in light of other recent Epic headlines (such as the company refusing to back down on its lawsuit vs Apple, offering 100% revenue to game devs who promise exclusivity, and the company's metaverse focus) and wonder whether this move was really the only way to go.
We'll also be talking about how SAG-AFTRA members overwhelmingly voted to authorize a video game strike, how Sony has a crucial decision to make after Jim Ryan's retirement as PlayStation CEO, and what other games we think need a 99 version.
Finally, in News Rewind, we look at CES coverage from the July/August 1983 volume of Atari Age magazine.
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Hosts: wrytersview, @donniegretro, @retrogamebrews
Opening theme: "Gamers Week Theme" by Akseli Takanen
Patron theme: "Chiptune Boss" by @donniegretro
Closing theme: "Gamers Week Full-Length Theme" by Akseli Takanen

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Capítulos

1. Reviews, Reactions, and Requests (00:04:54)

2. Very Important Poll (00:06:38)

3. Patron shout-outs (00:14:30)

4. SAG-AFTRA members overwhelmingly authorize video game strike (00:18:19)

5. Sony has a crucial decision to make after Jim Ryan's retirement (00:24:12)

6. Epic Games Lays Off Over 800 Employees (00:30:35)

7. Top 3 New Releases (00:36:22)

8. Main Topic: 10 games that need their own 99 version (00:45:19)

9. News Rewind: CES coverage from the July/August 1983 volume of Atari Age magazine (00:58:05)