Unity Software has announced that it is laying off 25 per cent of staff – over 1,800 people.
In a regulatory filing, Unity announced that it “plans to reduce approximately 1,800 employee roles, or approximately 25 per cent of its current workforce, as it restructures and refocuses on its core business, and to position itself for long-term and profitable growth.”
The filing goes on to state that “Unity cannot reasonably estimate the costs and charges in connection with this reduction, which it expects will be substantially incurred in the first quarter of 2024. The charges will primarily relate to employee transition, severance payments, and employee benefits.”
In November 2023 CEO Jim Whitehurst announced a plan to cut just under four per cent of staff in a “company reset”, with this being the follow-up by the company (via Reuters).
The news comes following a series of controversies at Unity in the last year. In September, Unity announced plans to implement a Unity Runtime Fee, which was described as a way for developers to share revenue with Unity. This came under fire, however, from developers who planned to launch their games at a lower price point or who were launching on services such as Xbox Game Pass, due to the fact that the revenue splitting was based on the amount of overall downloads and not the amount of money a game made.
Aggro Crab, the developer of the upcoming Soulslike Another Crab’s Treasure (which is being launched on Xbox Game Pass), released a statement explaining:
“If a fraction of those users download our game, Unity could take a fee that puts an enormous dent in our income and threatens the sustainability of our business.”
In other gaming news, Microsoft is now unbanning players who accidentally uploaded NSFW Baldur’s Gate 3 clips. Elsewhere, Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida has explained why Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail doesn’t have a public release date.