Unity Software to cut 25% of staff in ‘company reset’ continuation

[1_rick]

https://www.reuters.com/technology/...-staff-company-reset-continuation-2024-01-08/

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Videogame software provider Unity Software (U.N) will target laying off approximately 25% of its workforce, or 1,800 jobs, the company said in a regulatory filing and internal company memo on Monday.

After the announcement, Unity shares were up nearly 5% in after-hours trading.

This is the San Francisco-based company’s largest layoff ever, with completion expected by the end of March, the company said. While Unity is not widely recognized outside the gaming industry, over 1.1 million game creators rely on its software toolkit each month, including the maker of the popular “Pokemon Go,” “Beat Saber” and “Hearthstone” games.


Monday’s deep job cuts will affect all teams, regions and areas of the business, the company told Reuters.

The layoffs come shortly after interim CEO Jim Whitehurst announced a “company reset” in November.

“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,” Whitehurst wrote in the memo to all Unity employees on Monday.

Remember how they pissed everyone off last year with their new licensing scheme, and had to partially walk it back? Looks like the aftershocks aren't over yet.

 

[Armenius]

I guess developers are refusing to come back after the licensing debacle last year. It really didn't take long for alternatives to be found and boosted. I just have to wonder how bleak the future outlook is for the company and if more layoffs are in the forecast this year.

 

[uOpt]

We don't know whether this financial situation existed before the licensing change (and the failed change was supposed to fix it), or whether it is caused by the change.

 

[UnknownSouljer]

He don't know whether this financial situation existed before the licensing change (and the failed change was supposed to fix it), or whether it is caused by the change.

I mean we kind of do. We could simply look at financials. It's a publicly traded company.

 

[Lakados]

He don't know whether this financial situation existed before the licensing change (and the failed change was supposed to fix it), or whether it is caused by the change.

It’s rumoured that Unity lost Nintendo as a client, Unity has been the default developer environment for the Switch since launch, rumours say it’s UE5 for the new switch. If true, that was a big blow and supposedly loosing Nintendo is what prompted the need or desire to try and update the licensing to begin with.

 

[Lakados]

I guess developers are refusing to come back after the licensing debacle last year. It really didn't take long for alternatives to be found and boosted. I just have to wonder how bleak the future outlook is for the company and if more layoffs are in the forecast this year.

The licensing change didn’t cause them to really “loose” any developers. But far more new projects are being done in Unreal or other engines than Unity expected. Unity has not kept up with tech advances, they don’t do what many of their competitors do and their tools have fallen behind feature wise.
Epic has built a monster with UE5 and it’s making a mess of the status quo.

 

[Flogger23m]

It’s rumoured that Unity lost Nintendo as a client, Unity has been the default developer environment for the Switch since launch, rumours say it’s UE5 for the new switch. If true, that was a big blow and supposedly loosing Nintendo is what prompted the need or desire to try and update the licensing to begin with.

Did Nintendo make any specific tools for Unity?

 

[Lakados]

Did Nintendo make any specific tools for Unity?

Not really but when you register with Nintendo Developer the first thing they do is send you instructions on how to get started and they start with registering with Unity and configuring the Unity development environment.

 

[rinaldo00]

Hm, I usually respond to threads about layoffs be saying "LEAN TO CODE" That doesn't seem to work here.

 

[rinaldo00]

It’s rumoured that Unity lost Nintendo as a client, Unity has been the default developer environment for the Switch since launch, rumours say it’s UE5 for the new switch. If true, that was a big blow and supposedly loosing Nintendo is what prompted the need or desire to try and update the licensing to begin with.

More money for Sweeney to blow on Epic!

 

[DukenukemX]

We don't know whether this financial situation existed before the licensing change (and the failed change was supposed to fix it), or whether it is caused by the change.

But would make sense, and the timing couldn't be more perfect.