Unity is ending a service agreement with Peter Jackson’s Weta FX visual effects company, which will result in laying off 265 workers
That’s roughly 3.8% of its global workforce.
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What you need to know
San Francisco-based software development company Unity Software, best known for its popular Unity game engine which is used for games like Pokémon Go, Cuphead, Night in the Woods, and much more, is ending a service agreement with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson’s Weta FX visual effects company. As a result, Unity is expected to shut down 14 offices in various locations and is expected to eliminate 265 jobs (thanksReuters). This is roughly 3.8% of Unity’s estimated 7,000 worldwide workforce.
Unity Software to cut 3.8% of staff in ‘company reset’ https://t.co/sS4yQHaKdS pic.twitter.com/JPtgSfDft9November 29, 2023
For more context, Unity and Weta FX entered into an agreement back in 2021, where the former purchased the latter’s technology and engineering division for a whopping $1.6 billion. It’s important to note that while Unity is shuttering the technology division they bought, the Weta FX special effects team is still owned by Jackson.
Interim Unity CEO and former IBM president Jim Whitehurst has stated that the company is making changes to “refocus” itself. He said, “While no additions have been finalized, it’s clear that we will reduce the number of things we are doing overall.”
Windows Central’s take
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You might recall that earlier this year in September,Unity revealed a controversial runtime fee policythat was intended to charge per-install fees to game developers on games made in the Unity engine. However, several developers responded by stating they would stop using Unity if the new policy went into effect. AsAggro Crabsuccinctly stated, “Unity could take a fee that puts an enormous dent in our income and threatens the sustainability of our business.”
Shortly after the announcement, the company’s share price went into a spiral, which led the company to roll back the policy. Eventually,Unity CEO John Riccitiello ended up retiringand was replaced with Interim CEO Jim Whitehurst.
Considering all of the backlash from the rolled-back fee policy, it’s no wonder that Unity is still dealing with the negative ripples of its initial announcement. Many game developers understandably no longer trust the software company and it could be a while before faith is restored in Unity, if it ever is again.
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Self-professed gaming geek, Rebecca Spear, is one of Windows Central’s editors and reviewers with a focus on gaming handhelds, PC gaming, and laptops. When she isn’t checking out the latest games on Xbox Game Pass, PC, ROG Ally, or Steam Deck; she can be found digital drawing with a Wacom tablet. She’s written thousands of articles with everything from editorials, reviews, previews, features, previews, and hardware reviews over the last few years. If you need information about anything gaming-related, her articles can help you out. She also loves testing game accessories and any new tech on the market. You can follow her@rrspearon X (formerly Twitter).
