As Kotaku explains, the first echoes of these massive layoffs appeared two days ago on Blind, a discussion platform promoting anonymity between employees, and whose exchanges reflect the abrupt nature of the news. According to Kotaku sources, the affected employees are found all over the world and in all kinds of departments, but the AI and Engineering teams would be particularly affected. If the dismissed employees will receive their salary for another month, they will not however have the possibility of seeking another position within Unity, the company having for the moment suspended its recruitments.
Sources say just two weeks earlier, in front of his thousands of employees, CEO John Riccitiello, a former Electronic Arts boss who took over Unity in 2014, claimed the company was not in financial trouble and that no layoffs were on the agenda. Note that if Unity sees its turnover grow each year and that it authorizes high-sounding acquisitions such as that of Weta Digital (1.62 billion dollars), the company listed on the stock market since September 2020 is mainly subscribed to annual net losses.
After losing $282.3 million in 2020, Unity did even worse in 2021 with a loss of $532.6 million. And 2022 is not off to a better start with another loss of $177.5 million in the first quarter alone. Very present on the independent market, including on recent big hits like Genshin Impact, Valheim, Naraka: Bladepoint or V Rising, Unity is less attractive to major publishers who generally turn to the rival Unreal Engine or their own technologies.
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