Game engine maker Unity is laying off 265 people, or 3.8% of its roughly 7,000 person workforce, amid a company "reset" and the termination of an agreement with Peter Jackson's digital effects studio Wētā FX.
According to a report from fxguide, all 265 employees impacted were a part of Wētā Digital, a division of Unity formed when the company acquired a number of employees, tools, and technology from the New Zealand-based studio back in 2021 for $1.63 billion. Wētā FX has pledged to make offers to "as many of the team as possible," per a statement given to fxguide.
Per a report from Reuters, the termination of this deal and the associated layoffs are part of a "reset" also will result in the shuttering of Unity offices in 14 locations including Berlin and Singapore. Other locations, such as San Francisco and Bellevue, will see "full in-office services" reduced to three days a week, and staff will no longer be mandated to work out of them.
Unity's Tumultuous Year
These cuts follow Unity's third quarter earnings earlier this month, during which new CEO Jim Whitehurst stated the company was "currently doing too much, we are not achieving the synergies that exist across our portfolio, and we are not executing to our full potential. We aim to address these opportunities to emerge as a leaner, more agile, and faster growing company." The company's guidance also advised that Unity's near-future plans included discontinuing certain products, reducing workforce, and reducing office footprint. Unity's revenue for the quarter was up 69% year-over-year following the (widely-criticized) acquisition of mobile ad company ironSource, but the company also reported a net loss of $124.1 million. The engine maker has only seen one profitable quarter in its history as a public company, in Q1 of this year.
It's been a tumultuous year for Unity. This is its third round of layoffs just this year, having let go nearly 300 in January and another 600 in May (not to mention another 200 in June of 2022). Then, in the fall of this year, the company unveiled a new runtime fee policy that sparked a massive outcry among game developers who feared the new policy disproportionately impacted smaller games with exhorbitant fees. The company later apologized and walked back the policy, but many developers noted that this, along with other recent changes and statements made by the company, had eroded trust significantly. Not long after, then-company CEO John Riccitiello stepped down.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
