Game software development company Unity has announced plans to cut around 25% of its workforce, with approximately 1,800 members of staff expected to be affected.
First reported by Reuters, these plans were revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing published yesterday (January 8). In the filing, the company said that the changes come “as it restructures and refocuses on its core business, and to position itself for long-term and profitable growth.”
In a statement sent to TRG today (January 9), a Unity spokesperson said that the "difficult decision" was made as part of a "company reset." The statement reads: "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."
This latest announcement follows on from job cut plans revealed within the company’s Q3 2023 shareholder letter by interim CEO James Whitehurst. At the time, it was stated that alongside a “comprehensive assessment” of its product portfolio, the company had begun “evaluating the right cost structure that aligns with the more focused portfolio,” and planned to “complete all interventions” by the end of Q1 2024. These interventions, it said, would “likely include discontinuing certain product offerings, reducing our workforce, and reducing our office footprint.”
Just weeks after that announcement, it was confirmed that 265 members of staff were being laid off as it terminated the ‘professional services’ section of an agreement made with the visual effects company Wētā FX. Like the latest announcement, it described this as part of a "company reset." At the same time, Unity also announced the shutdown of offices in 14 locations.
Last September, Unity’s controversial ‘Runtime Fee’ was first announced, and met with major backlash from game developers. At first, it was suggested that anyone whose games made in Unity passed certain thresholds (based on their yearly revenue and number of lifetime installs) would be subject to an additional monthly fee calculated using the additional number of game installs per month. This was soon changed so that Unity Personal and Plus members won't be affected, and the fee will only apply to games created using the long-term support (LTS) releasing this year.
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