Legendary Unreal Evangelist Sjoerd De Jong Departs Epic Games as Industry Hits AI Inflection Point

In June 2026, Sjoerd De Jong, iconic Unreal Engine lead evangelist and legendary level designer, announced his departure from Epic Games via LinkedIn, wrapping a 12-year tenure at the company and a 27-year-long career tied to the Unreal Engine franchise. His exit coincides with Epic’s full reveal of the Unreal Engine 6 roadmap and widespread industry adoption of generative AI content tools, sparking widespread discussion among global game developers.

1. 27 Years of Unreal Heritage, Pioneer of Level Design

Sjoerd De Jong’s connection to Unreal began at age 15. When the original Unreal launched in 1998, he rose to fame as a prolific modder. Recognized for exceptional level design talent, he was personally recruited by Epic to work on Unreal Tournament 2004, creating iconic maps DM-Rankin and ONS-Torlan—the most played official levels in the game’s server history. Over his career, he held roles at renowned studios including Guerrilla Games and Starbreeze, and founded independent studio Teotl Studios, behind acclaimed indie titles such as The Ball and The Solus Project, gaining comprehensive expertise in AAA and small-team production pipelines. He joined Epic full-time in 2014 as Lead Evangelist for Unreal Engine, tasked with global outreach, studio visits and worldwide tech talks to democratize Unreal Engine 4 and cut barriers for AAA development globally. From 2020 to 2025, he served as Senior Director of Developer Experience, before being promoted to Senior Director of Product for an unannounced flagship project at the start of 2026.

2. 12 Years at Epic: Empowering Millions of Global Creators

In his heartfelt LinkedIn farewell post, De Jong reflected on how Unreal completely reshaped his life. Struggling with an aimless youth, he found his calling through the engine. During his 12-year Epic tenure, he traveled to dozens of countries, visited hundreds of studios, delivered hundreds of presentations, and supported tens of thousands of developers annually, witnessing Unreal Engine 4 and 5 revolutionize workflows for games, film and architectural visualization worldwide. He cited the global developer community’s passion and collaborative spirit as the most invaluable takeaway from his time at Epic.

3. Core Reason for Departure: Industry Reaches Pivotal AI Transformation Era

De Jong explained his decision stems from the conclusion of an old industrial era. The games industry is now at a critical turning point driven by converging technological shifts, and he intends to reassess the industry’s trajectory and adapt his career to the emerging wave of AI innovation. His exit lines up perfectly with Epic’s public unveiling of Unreal Engine 6. The next-gen engine will deeply integrate large language models including Claude and Gemini to automate repetitive workflows: procedural level generation, automated character rigging, one-click lighting adjustments and bulk asset creation. It will also unify the standard Unreal Editor with UEFN (Unreal Editor for Fortnite) under open standards enabling interoperable assets, code and economies across games and ecosystems. Traditional manual level art pipelines are being rapidly replaced by generative AI, the core shift behind his observation of a closing chapter for old industry practices. He has not disclosed his next career destination, only stating he will align himself with new industry challenges and opportunities.

4. Wide-Ranging Industrial Impacts of the Departure

1. End of an iconic Unreal ambassador: As the primary global face of Unreal’s grassroots expansion, De Jong mentored countless small teams adopting the engine. His departure signals the decline of traditional offline evangelism; Epic will shift focus to AI-powered online tools and standardized digital tutorials to support developers.
2. Clear signal of AI industrial overhaul: The voluntary exit of a veteran traditional level designer underscores how AIGC is restructuring full game production chains, triggering sweeping shifts to job roles and workforce demands across art and design disciplines.
3. New variable for independent game development: Drawing on his track record running an independent studio, industry insiders speculate De Jong may return to indie development, launch an AI tool startup, or join generative content tech firms, bringing fresh innovation to the indie space.
4. Restructured global outreach for Epic UE6: Losing its long-serving lead global evangelist, Epic is expected to rework its developer relations strategy, investing more heavily in AI ecosystem infrastructure and online live tech streams to offset reduced in-person events. As of press time, Epic Games has released no official statement regarding Sjoerd De Jong’s departure, and his future career path remains unconfirmed.