Sergiy Galyonkin, the director of publishing strategy at Epic Games, announced on Monday that he is leaving the company. His departure comes on the heels of Epic Games’ decision to lay off 830 employees last week. Galyonkin’s role at the company included significant contributions to the development of the Epic Games Store, a rival to the Steam platform.
In a statement, Galyonkin said that today marks his final day at Epic Games. Although he expressed gratitude for his time at the company and praised its charitable efforts, especially regarding Ukraine, he mentioned that he’s “not a good fit” for the future direction of Epic Games. The company itself is shifting focus from being merely a game developer and publisher to becoming a broader platform.
Galyonkin joined Epic Games in 2016 and initially served as the head of publishing for Eastern Europe. He later took on his most recent role in August 2017. Before joining Epic, Galyonkin was already well-known in the gaming community for creating Steam Spy, a website that collects and analyzes data from Steam user profiles to generate sales and gameplay statistics.
His expertise from running Steam Spy was leveraged in the development of the Epic Games Store, which launched in December 2018. This store distinguished itself with a more favorable revenue-sharing model for game developers, taking only a 12% cut as opposed to Steam’s 30%.
It’s unclear if Galyonkin’s departure is related to the recent job cuts at Epic Games. Last week, the company announced that it would lay off around 16% of its workforce, amounting to 830 employees.
— Sergiy Galyonkin (@galyonkin) October 2, 2023
In his farewell statement, Galyonkin highlighted some of the high points of his career at Epic, including the launch of Fortnite and the company’s pioneering revenue-sharing model. He also expressed his gratitude for Epic Games’ charitable donation of $144 million to help Ukraine.
Although he is leaving Epic Games, Galyonkin plans to stay in the gaming industry. In his own words, he hopes to be “more vocal” now that he’s free from corporate PR constraints.
Sergiy Galyonkin’s departure from Epic Games marks the end of an era for the company, especially as it navigates a period of significant change and recent layoffs. His influence, particularly in the development of the Epic Games Store, has been noteworthy. As both he and the company look toward the future, the gaming community will undoubtedly keep a close eye on their next moves.
