Unreal Engine legend Sjoerd De Jong leaves Epic Games after 12 years

Sjoerd De Jong, one of the most recognizable names in Unreal Engine history, has left Epic Games after 12 years with the company. He announced the departure last week in a LinkedIn post, saying simply: "Last week was my last week at Epic."

De Jong's connection to Unreal stretches back to 1998, when he was 15 years old and modding the original Unreal FPS. He became prominent enough as a map creator that Epic approached him directly to work on Unreal Tournament 2004 — he designed DM-Rankin and ONS-Torlan, with DM-Rankin going on to become the most-played UT2004 map of all time according to server stats on the Unreal wiki. He later worked at studios including Starbreeze and his own indie outfit Teotl Studios, with credits on games like Killzone and The Ball, before Epic hired him full-time in 2014 as "lead evangelist" for the engine. His most recent role was senior director on an unannounced project.

In his post, De Jong reflected on what 27 years with Unreal Engine meant to him personally — dozens of countries visited, hundreds of studios, hundreds of talks, and millions of developers supported annually. He credited the engine with turning his life around: "I didn't have an easy childhood or youth and things weren't going anywhere, but all of that changed entirely when I discovered Unreal Engine." On why he's leaving now, he pointed to a broader sense of flux in the industry: "The games industry has always been an industry where change is relentless and inevitable, but it feels like we are reaching a pivotal point now."

De Jong didn't announce a next move, saying only "let's see where we end up" and that he hopes to come to terms with where the industry is heading. His departure is another notable exit from Epic at a time when the wider games industry has seen significant upheaval.