Epic Games is shutting down three popular Fortnite game modes.

Following the news that Epic Games laid off 1,000 developers, the company will also permanently remove three game modes from Fortnite.

Following news of Epic Games laying off 1,000 employees, the company announced it will remove three game modes from Fortnite. In recent years, Epic has strived to add diverse experiences to its signature battle royale game, transforming it into a platform that extends beyond its core game modes. However, they are now scaling back some of the content in a more experimental way.

In an official statement via Fortnite Status, Epic Games said they had 'built a lot of game modes for Fortnite, and in some instances, [they] failed to create something great enough to attract and retain a large player base. We will be shutting down these modes according to the schedule outlined below – we are grateful to everyone who played.'

Three game modes will soon be removed from Fortnite: Rocket Racing (a cooperative mode with Rocket League), Ballistic (a Valorant-style arena shooter), and the Battle Stage portion of Fortnite Festival. While all of these modes were very popular upon release, player numbers have steadily declined since, along with a decrease in engagement with Fortnite in general.

The Rocket Racing mode will be removed in October 2026, along with all UEFN islands featuring the Rocket Racing pattern. The Ballistic mode will be removed on April 16, 2026, as part of update 40.20. Finally, the Festival's Battle Stage competitive mode will no longer be playable as of April 16, 2026, but missions will remain available until then. The rest of Fortnite Festival is unaffected and will continue to operate during this time.

This information comes after Epic Games laid off more than 1,000 employees today. A statement from Tim Sweeney, also shared internally at Epic, reads as follows: 'Today, we laid off more than 1,000 Epic employees. I am very sorry that this has happened. The decline in Fortnite player numbers starting in 2025 means we are spending significantly more than we are earning, and we have to make drastic cuts to keep the company running. These layoffs, along with over $500 million in identified cost savings in contracting, marketing, and closing some vacant positions, help us to be in a more stable position.'

'What we need to do now is clear: build amazing Fortnite experiences with fresh seasonal content, gameplay, storylines, and live events; accelerate developer tools with greater stability and capability as we transition from Unreal Engine 5 and UEFN to Unreal Engine 6.'

How these changes will affect Fortnite in the future remains to be seen, but currently no other game modes have been changed or removed.