Last year, Unity caused a lot of ink to be spilled by announcing a new tax on video game installations. After an outcry from the entire video game industry, the tax was corrected to less impact independent developers and the CEO John Riccitiello left the firm last October.
But now, at the start of this year, Unity announcing bad news: it has just laid off nearly 25% of its workforce, or around 1,800 people. Unity announced a “corporate reset” last year and had already let go of 265 employees in November, as well as several people in January and March. In total, therefore, nearly 3,000 employees were laid off fromUnity in one year. Jim Whitehurst, CEO actingUnity, explained in a memo that the company was reducing its projects to focus on the core of its business and thus ensure the success and profitability of the firm in the long term. In a press release addressed to IGN, Unity adds:
Today, as part of the reset of our business described in our November 9, 2023 shareholder letter, we announced that Unity has made the difficult decision to implement a reduction in force, targeting approximately 25% of our workforce total in all teams. This decision was not taken lightly and we express our deepest gratitude to those affected for their dedication and contributions. We are committed to supporting affected employees throughout this difficult transition. We appreciate the understanding and support of our community and stakeholders as we navigate these changes together.
There are more and more layoffs in the video game sector. In 2023, around 10,000 employees would have been let go, the trend will clearly not be reversed in 2024… Unity is as a reminder a game engine used in a bunch of titles like the excellent Blasphemous 2which you can find at €19.99 on Amazon, Cdiscount, there Fnac, GOG.com And Gamesplanet.
| Clint008 Editor – Tester |
