Epic Games cuts 16% workforce, sells Bandcamp to Songtradr amid financial instability

Epic Games, the Fortnite Battle Royale creator, is cutting its workforce by 16% percent, which equates to approximately 830 employees due to financial instability. As part of this process, the company has announced that it has sold the music distribution platform Bandcamp to Songtradr, a music licensing and marketplace company. This sale took place just 18 months after Epic Games' acquisition of Bandcamp.

The sale allows Epic Games to focus on its main areas: the metaverse, games, and tools, according to Steve Allison, VP and GM of the Epic Games store. It also provides independent artists with opportunities to connect with creators and developers for music licensing. Songtradr plans to maintain Bandcamp as a music marketplace and community, focusing on an artist-first revenue share model. Artists on Bandcamp will be able to license their music to various media, including content creators, game developers, and brands. So, apparently Bandcamp users shouldn't expect many changes in how the platform operates, at least for now.

As a related note, it has been revealed that almost the entire team at Mediatonic, the developers of the popular game Fall Guys, has reportedly been laid off, so unfortunately the future of the multiplayer game seems to be, at best, uncertain.