With controversy continuing to swirl around its contentious installation fees, Unity was forced to close its offices in San Francisco and Austin on Thursday due to what it called a credible death threat, Bloomberg reports.
"Today, we have been made aware of a potential threat to some of our offices. We have taken immediate and proactive measures to ensure the safety of our employees, which is our top priority," a Unity spokesperson said in a statement to IGN. "We are closing our offices today and tomorrow that could be potential targets for this threat, and are fully cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation."
The threat follows several days of intense criticism over Unity's new pricing policy, which will charge game developers a $0.20 fee for every new installation after 200,000 units. Developers have expressed major concerns about the policy, pointing to issues with counting installs and other problems, with some even threatening to switch engines or delete their games entirely.
Some of the Unity games that could be affected include Genshin Impact, Pokemon Go, Hollow Knight: Sillksong, Cult of the Lamb, and Among Us. The developers behind Cult of the Lamb, Among Us, and Rust 2 have been especially vocal.
Unity has clarified and walked back parts of the policy, saying that charity bundles and Game Pass games will be exempt, but has otherwise claimed that 90 percent of its customers will not be impacted.
Assuming Unity doesn't reverse course, the new policy is set to begin on January 1, 2024.
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.
