Following an accusation from Epic Games alumnus, Cliff Blezinski, that the Fortnite studio had been poaching developers from his own Boss Key Productions -- the developer of Lawbreakers and 80s-themed battle royale, Radical Heights -- Epic Games has suggested that these claims are exaggerated.
This all kicked off over the weekend, with Cliffy B stating that Epic Games had been "hiring away" his team at Boss Key, suggesting that that there was room in the battle royale genre for more than one game -- as if Epic was attempting to slow or damage the development of Radical Heights in order to shore up Fortnite's position as the number one game in that genre.
That's not the case at all, according to one former Boss Key employee (now at Epic), William McCarroll, who said (via ):
"Assuming that Epic is the one starting contact / poaching is a bit presumptuous. We all had our own reasons for making the choice to leave [Boss Key Productions] for Epic, and to act like we are commodities being stolen is a bit hurtful. We are people first and foremost."
It also seems a little hypocritical of Blezinski to suggest employees were stolen away, considering when Boss Key was set up it drew employees away from established companies like Ubisoft, Irrational Games and Epic Games itself.
You can also understand the frustration on his part, because after a lacklustre response to Lawbreakers, Boss Key needs Radical Heights to do well. But still, it's his job at Boss Key to make people want to stay. If they get a better offer elsewhere, that's hardly their fault.