Unity Software is laying off roughly 25 percent of its staff in another major shakeup to one of the largest game engine developers in the industry, whose technology powers games ranging from Genshin Impact to Hollow Knight: Silksong.
Unity announced the layoffs in a regulatory filing and internal company memo on Monday, according to a Reuters report. A company spokesperson told Reuters that the cuts will affect all teams, regions, and areas of the business, and will result in the loss of around 1,800 jobs.
"We are … reducing the number of things we are doing in order to focus on our core business and drive our long-term success and profitability," interim CEO Jim Whitehurst reportedly wrote in a company memo.
Unity sent the following statement to IGN:
Today, as part of our company reset outlined in our Shareholder Letter on November 9, 2023, we announced that Unity has made the difficult decision to implement a workforce reduction, targeting approximately 25% of our total workforce across all teams. This decision was not taken lightly, and we extend our deepest gratitude to those affected for their dedication and contributions. We are committed to supporting impacted employees through this challenging transition. We appreciate the understanding and support of our community and stakeholders as we navigate these changes together.
"A company reset"
This is the latest in the series of layoffs since Unity announced a "company reset" in late 2023 following the departure of former CEO John Riccitiello. In November, Unity laid off 265 workers amid the termination of an agreemen with Peter Jackson's digital effects studio Weta FX, with additional layoffs also taking place in January and May 2023. Taken together, the layoffs will impact nearly 3000 jobs, with more reductions expected to be on the way.
Unity has been in turmoil since announcing an install fee policy back in September, creating an uproar and leading some developers to vow to move to other platforms. The backlash against the policy led to the resignation of then-CEO John Riccitiello in October.
In the wake of Riccitiello's departure, Whitehurst said that Unity 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" and that its go was to be a "faster and more agile company."
Layoffs have been a dominant story within the games industry as Epic Games, Embracer Group, EA games, and a host of other companies have announced cutbacks. Unity's reduction is one of the largest to date, with the games industry bracing for more as 2024 continues.
Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
