Clash of Clans TH18 Upgrade Order Guide for 2026

**Epic Games’ Executive Changes Amid Controversial Layoffs**

Epic Games, the acclaimed creator of the hugely popular game *Fortnite*, has recently seen a major overhaul of its executive team with the departure of chief people officer Monika Fahlbusch. Her exit follows the company’s announcement of significant layoffs impacting over 1,000 employees, marking a turbulent time for the organization.

Fahlbusch joined Epic in December 2020. Prior to her role at the gaming firm, she served as chief people officer at Juul Labs for two years, a company dedicated to offering less harmful alternatives to combustible cigarettes. Epic confirmed her departure, stating her final day was April 15, but did not reveal details pertaining to the reasons for her exit or the terms of her departure. Efforts to obtain comments from Fahlbusch were unsuccessful.

In her position as head of Human Resources, Fahlbusch had a pivotal role during the recent layoffs. This latest round of job reductions shocked many within the organization, especially among front-line employees. In communication with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Fahlbusch recognized the hardships the layoffs imposed on both employees and the community, stressing the seriousness of the situation.

The layoffs included alarming situations, such as one instance involving an employee facing terminal brain cancer at risk of losing life insurance due to the job cuts. The company’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, pledged to tackle the insurance issues for the affected family, although the layoffs faced considerable backlash, with Sweeney linking them partly to an expensive antitrust legal conflict the company is currently involved in.

In the wake of the layoffs, Sweeney expressed hope for the future job market, indicating that employers would soon start receiving applications from highly skilled candidates. He noted that the layoffs were not performance-based, distinguishing this decision from traditional corporate ‘rightsizing.’

In another update, reports have surfaced that Epic Games is relying on a $1.5 billion collaboration with Disney as part of its financial recovery strategy. This alliance reportedly involves the creation of an extraction shooter game featuring Disney characters. Nonetheless, this partnership has also faced scrutiny, with allegations suggesting that Epic’s chief operating officer, Dan Vogel, has been applying excessive pressure on teams and behaving inappropriately during meetings.

In response to these claims, Liz Marksman, the senior director of global communications at Epic, denied that Vogel’s conduct was harmful to the work environment, clarifying that meetings at Epic prioritize constructive discussions. Marksman asserted that while Vogel pushes for ambitious timelines, he does not partake in unprofessional behavior, which the company does not tolerate.

As Epic manages these difficult transitions, involving shifts in leadership and financial strategies, the gaming community and industry observers will be closely monitoring how the organization addresses both internal and external challenges while aiming for stability and growth in the ever-evolving gaming landscape.

**The Northernlion Supercruise: An Unusual Announcement and Quick Cancellation**

In an unexpected twist, cherished Twitch streamer Ryan “Northernlion” Letourneau revealed the Northernlion Supercruise, a lavish five-day streaming event slated for 2024. Planned to embark from Tampa, Florida, with stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico, the event promised involvement from prominent streamers including Dan Gheesling, Squeex, and LovelyMomo. Nonetheless, within merely 72 hours of the announcement, the event was suddenly canceled, resulting in refunds for those who had booked.

At first, fans exhibited skepticism regarding the seriousness of the announcement. Northernlion is recognized for upholding a work-life balance and has typically steered clear of major streaming events. This caused many to assume the Supercruise was an elaborate joke, especially considering Northernlion’s known love for cruises. Regrettably for fans intrigued by the concept, the event was indeed legitimate before its abrupt cancellation.

The choice to cancel the Supercruise arose after a whirlwind of mixed reactions from the community. While some fans conveyed enthusiasm for the innovative idea, others expressed considerable concerns about the health and safety of both the streamers and cruise passengers. Ethical questions also emerged, notably concerning Corporate Travel, the agency coordinating the event, which had ties promoting trips to Israel during ongoing conflicts in Palestine.

During streams leading up to the cancellation, Northernlion appeared increasingly uneasy about the implications of the event. He openly discussed his feelings of apprehension, revealing to viewers how the anticipation for an engaging experience transitioned into worries about the safety of all those involved. “I think this has highlighted for me that I actually do have an anxiety disorder,” he noted, recognizing how the pressure of ensuring safety diverted his attention from crafting a memorable experience to addressing potential hazards.

After the cancellation, Northernlion reassured audiences that while the Supercruise would not proceed as planned, many activities originally aimed for the event, such as a streamer Q&A and a speedrunning contest, would still take place — albeit in a different format, streamed remotely instead of as in-person affairs.

As the situation calms from this unforeseen incident, fans and followers of Northernlion are left pondering the swift rise and fall of the Supercruise, an initiative that started as an audacious foray into new content territory and concluded as a cautionary narrative about the challenges of organizing large public gatherings in the present day.

Valve’s recently announced Steam Frame is promising a unique twist on VR headsets. On top of being a Quest 3-style standalone headset that can both stream games from a powerful PC and run less demanding games on its own internals, the latter won’t be limited to VR titles – by using SteamOS as its operating system, the Frame can locally run any Steam game in your library, provided it can perform on the hardware.

That’s all fine, especially in how it bypasses classic VR issues like the need for base stations or an expensive desktop. But the smartest thing in VR right now is not the Steam Frame. It isn’t even hardware. It’s a mod. Enter Praydog’s UEVR, or Universal Unreal Engine VR: a mod that’s quietly turned hundreds (potentially thousands) of Unreal Engine games into playable, room-scale VR experiences since its release.

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