UPDATE: After Insider Gaming reported late Saturday on Michael Prinke, a former employee at Epic Games, being part of the recent layoffs while battling brain cancer, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has made a public statement.
In a post on social media, Sweeny said that they will solve the insurance issue for them.
“Epic is in contact with the family and will solve the insurance for them,” Sweeney wrote. “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.”
The original story follows below:
Last week, Epic Games announced that it was laying off more than 1,000 employees in a move they claim was due to lower-than-expected engagement in Fortnite and other areas of the games business. Since then, dozens of employees have taken to social media to make it known that they were caught up in the layoffs. That includes one person going through a battle with brain cancer.
In a social media post over the weekend, Jenni Griffin revealed that her husband, programmer writer Michael (Mike) Prinke, was one of the many people to lose their jobs.
Prinke, as Griffin writes, is battling terminal brain cancer. As an Epic Games employee, he received life insurance as a benefit. Now that he’s lost his job, that benefit goes away. And, because his cancer is viewed as a “pre-existing condition” by insurance companies, he’s not eligible to gain new coverage.
It’s important to note that employees who’ve lost their jobs retain company-provided health insurance for six months. Life insurance, on the other hand, appears to be ending immediately.
“So now, as I face the reality of losing my husband…I’m also facing the reality of what type of funeral/burial I can afford,” she said. “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?”
Griffin continued: “Mike is not just a number. He is a father. A husband. A person deeply loved.”
She says that she’s hoping that by sharing this message, it reaches those at Epic who made the decision. She believes that, had those making the decision known the “full human impact”, they would’ve done something to protect Prinke.
“We are running out of time, and I’m trying everything I can to protect my family while I still have him here with us,” she said, pleading for the message to be shared.
We want to extend our heartfelt sympathies to Michael and Jenni, as well as to all of the people who have lost their jobs. You can read her full post and share it yourself below.
Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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I’m baffled. How can something like this be allowed to happen? If there’s a life insurance policy, and premiums have been paid to the insurer, how can that suddenly just be annulled?
Sorry to hear that. Tim Sweeney defended his employees cheering on or mocking Charlie Kirk’s murder as “freedom of speech” but bans criticism of China’s government from Fortnite. He does not care, he can’t run the company got lucky is all.