Sweeney

Epic Games, the developer of the popular video game “Fortnite,” is laying off more than 1,000 employees and cutting $500 million in costs.

Chief Executive Tim Sweeney announced the cuts Tuesday morning in a message to employees. He said it has nothing to do with AI and instead pointed to what he said was a lack of “Fortnite” engagement last year.

“Despite Fortnite remaining one of the most successful games in the world, we’ve had challenges delivering consistent Fortnite magic with every season,” said Sweeney in a statement.

The company’s flagship game was first released in 2017. Since then, it’s been a key part of internet culture — where character-specific dances became widespread trends and major musicians, like Travis Scott and Ariana Grande, have hosted concerts in the virtual realm.

But Epic has been slow to optimize the computer game for mobile play. A “Fortnite” app was first introduced in 2018, but soon removed due to a legal battle against Apple and Google over app store practices. Sweeney said the company is still in the “early stages of returning to mobile and optimizing Fortnite for the world’s billions of smartphones.”

Many of Epic’s woes also come from industry-wide challenges, like “slower growth, weaker spending, and tougher cost economics,” Sweeney wrote. And Epic isn’t the only one suffering. In recent years, gaming companies like Electronic Arts and Microsoft’s Xbox division have all cut down their workforces.

Earlier this year, the State of the Game Industry Report from the Game Developers Conference found roughly one-third of U.S. video game industry workers were laid off in the past two years.

Epic Games was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina. It has dozens of offices around the world, including in Los Angeles. Beyond “Fortnite,” the company is known as a leader in 3D engine technology and interactive entertainment.

Over the years, Epic Games has steadily built itself into a major Hollywood player. Its 3D creation tool, the Unreal Engine, has been used to produce visual effects and virtual worlds for shows like Walt Disney Co. and Lucasfilm’s “The Mandalorian” and HBO’s “Westworld.”

In 2024, Disney inked a deal with Epic Games to create a games and entertainment universe with the company’s brands, including Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar. Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic Games for a minority stake in the company. Newly minted Disney Chief Executive Josh D’Amaro managed the collaboration with Epic Games in his previous role as parks chief to create a Disney world within the popular “Fortnite” game.

Looking ahead, Sweeney plans to focus the company on building “awesome Fortnite experiences” with fresh content and continue to accelerate its developer tools like the Unreal Engine.

SYDNEY Sweeney has flaunted her figure in a sheer lace bodysuit during a sexy photoshoot to promote the next release in her lingerie brand, Syrn.

The Euphoria star has been regularly modeling lingerie from her collection since launching Syrn in January.

On Tuesday, Sydney, 28, appeared in a video, posted to the brand’s official Instagram page, giving a behind-the-scenes look at the actress on the set of the racy shoot.

The clip showed The Housemaid star wearing the white one-piece suit, labeled The Fantasy Lace Halter Bodysuit on the company’s website, which was completely see-through, exposing her bare breasts.

The middle had a giant cut-out also teasing her cleavage, nearly busting out of the thin fabric, and her flat tummy.

Sydney finished the look with thigh-high sheer white stockings, a full face of makeup, and her long blond hair styled in loose waves.

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Sydney Sweeney teases fans with a rose between her boobs in white lace lingerie

The video captured The White Lotus star seductively posing and making suggestive gestures at the camera, while looking through gold binoculars.

She was also seen walking in the risqué attire with a massive brown fur coat draped over one shoulder.

“Round two, she’s ready. Seductress Drop 2 now LIVE,” the caption read.

Sydney wore the same bodysuit in a snapshot posted last week on the Syrn Instagram page, which announced that two new colors had been added to the best-seller.

The bodysuit was previously available in “Pillow Fight” (white) and “Pout” (pink) and is now also offered in “Shipwrecked” (dark blue) and “After Dark” (black).

Syrn prides itself on being inclusive and designed for all body types, with 44 sizes ranging from 30B to 42DDD.

In an interview with Us Weekly earlier this month, Sydney opened up about not feeling confident in her body growing up.

“I grew up with boobs. I was wearing a 32DD in sixth grade, and I never felt confident,” the Nobody but You star told the outlet.

“I never had anything I felt good in, and I just wanted to hide. It wasn’t until [I played] Cassie in Euphoria that I started realizing it’s actually powerful to be confident; our bodies are incredible.

“We should embrace [them] and feel really good in our skin.”

Sydney added that playing Cassie, who generally wore more revealing clothing that highlighted her ample chest, inspired her to launch a brand that catered to all sizes.

“I’d always be like, ‘Oh, this fit doesn’t work. I don’t have the support I want. The straps are digging into my shoulders, or it’s kind of itchy and riding up.’

“I started a whole Pinterest board of thousands of photos of inspiration, and I [thought], ‘I should actually do this.’ And we put it together,” she explained.

“That’s kind of why I wanted to build all these different worlds,” Sydney continued.

“So [fans] could honestly choose what they wanted to be [at] the start of the day or the end of the day.”

POUTING actress Sydney Sweeney does more than just pay lip service to her undies brand by modelling the range.

The 28-year-old was marking SYRN’s role as lingerie partner of US music festival Stagecoach.

Sydney said: “We’re making the festival even better.”

Sydney recently revealed her true bra size, admitting her curves made her insecure until her star rose in Hollywood.

Her role in Euphoria helped her embrace her body exactly how it is, according to the star.

“I grew up with boobs. I was wearing a 32DD in sixth grade, and I never felt confident,” she told the magazine.

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“I never had anything I felt good in, and I just wanted to hide. It wasn’t until [I played] Cassie in Euphoria that I started realizing it’s actually powerful to be confident; our bodies are incredible.

“We should embrace [them] and feel really good in our skin.”

Sydney said that while playing Cassie, she was forced to wear things she typically wouldn’t – revealing pieces that highlighted her ample chest.

“I’d always be like, ‘Oh, this fit doesn’t work’,” she said.

“‘I don’t have the support I want. The straps are digging into my shoulders or it’s kind of itchy and riding up.’

“I started a whole Pinterest board of thousands of photos of inspiration, and I [thought], ‘I should actually do this.’ And we put it together.”