Unity lays off 265 employees in ‘business reset’

Game engine maker Unity is laying off 265 employees, which amounts to about 3.8 percent of its workforce. The company is also ending its partnership with SFX company Weta FX. Unity says it is doing this as part of a ‘reset’ for the company.

Unity Software said during the presentation of its quarterly figures that the company would ‘probably’ have a round of layoffs. The engine maker has now confirmed the layoffs, writes Reuters news agency. The company is ending its partnership with Weta FX, the visual effects company of Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson. The two companies have been working together since 2021, when Unity acquired Weta FX’s technology and engineering division. As a result, 265 employees whose work is related to that collaboration will lose their jobs. The company has a total of approximately 7,000 employees.

Unity will also close fourteen offices in Berlin and Singapore, among others, and reduce other office spaces. The company will no longer require employees to work in the office three days a week. Interim CEO Jim Whitehurst tells Reuters that more changes are coming that should “reorient” Unity.

In September, Unity tried to introduce a ‘runtime’ fee. As a result, developers using the Unity engine would have to pay up to 20 cents for each new installation of their game, provided they meet certain sales and download criteria. That change was negatively received by game makers who use the engine. The company later made changes to that rate system. Last month, Unity CEO John Riccitiello resigned.