Valve Vet Slams Epic Layoffs, Says Gabe Newell Beats Tim Sweeney

Why Chet Went Viral

I saw Chet Faliszek drop a TikTok that blew up quick and it felt like a punch to the gut.

You should check his video because he was shaking his head at Epic for cutting over a thousand staff.

The clip looked totally unscripted and kind of messy but that makes it feel very real to me.

I wonder why a private firm like Epic feels the need to please shareholders so much.

You can see that these cuts are cruel when you look at how much Fortnite and other titles make.

People at the company are left wondering if their jobs safe or just a pink slip away.

Chet threw a jab at Tim by saying Gabe is much better at caring for workers.

I know that Valve has a culture where you actually feel like you own the place.

Gabe focuses on making new things and that seems to pay off longer than chasing quick profits.

When I look at how Valve works I see a company that truly trusts its people.

Chet said he could retire comfortably because Valve treated him like a partner instead of a hired hand.

You don’t see that kind of ownership often so it makes sense why devs prefer smaller studios.

These layoffs are stripping the industry of knowledge and passion and long term commitment.

I worry that we losing the fire that makes games actually great.

Other studios watching Epic might start cutting too because they fear the same fate.

Epic shut down several live games like Rocket Racing and other projects without much warning.

You probably noticed they hiked up the price of V‑Bucks and bought Bandcamp to get more cash.

They reported 1.16 billion dollars in revenue for 2025 yet they still fired their workers.

Epic hasn’t answered Chet yet but the conversation online is getting much louder.

You have to ask if a profit first model can survive without breaking the whole team.

I believe Chet is right that we must value people over short term gains or the industry suffers.