Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney publicly apologized and pledged to resolve insurance issues for Mike Prinke, a veteran programmer laid off in mass cuts with terminal brain cancer. The response followed a viral Facebook post by Prinke's wife, Jenni Griffin, detailing their family's hardships after the March 24 layoffs affecting over 1,000 employees.
On March 24, 2026, Epic Games announced layoffs of more than 1,000 employees, including long-time contributors to Fortnite, amid a downturn in player interest that began the previous year—despite the game remaining one of the world's largest by late 2025—and rising operating costs. Among those affected was Mike Prinke, a programmer with nearly seven years at the company who was battling terminal brain cancer, including an aggressive tumor in his frontal lobe visible in a brain scan shared publicly.
Prinke's condition was known to colleagues through frequent medical appointments and paid leave, and he continued contributing, including internal projects and Epic's 'Inside Unreal' YouTube tutorials, such as a 2021 video on gameplay abilities viewed hundreds of thousands of times. U.S.-based staff received six months of severance, accelerated stock vesting, and extended healthcare coverage, but life insurance policies lapsed. Due to his pre-existing condition, Prinke could not obtain new coverage, raising concerns about future health events that might impair his ability to handle paperwork.
Griffin posted on Facebook about the family's struggles: 'As I face the reality of losing my husband... I'm also facing the reality of what type of funeral/burial I can afford. How I will keep a roof over our heads. How I will protect our son and the life we built together. What will happen to our dogs.' The post went viral on Reddit and X, prompting tags to Sweeney from Fortnite news accounts.
On March 29, Sweeney responded on X: 'Epic is in contact with the family and will solve the insurance for them. There is high confidentiality around medical information and it was not a factor in this layoff decision. Sorry to everyone for not recognizing this terribly painful situation and handling it in advance.' He also separately praised the laid-off workers as 'quality folks' now available to other employers.
