Many Unity employees are in for a rough start, as the game engine developers announced on January 8, 2024, that they would be cutting off 25% of its workforce, which is around 1,800 people. On Monday, CEO Jim Whitehurst issued a company-wide message announcing the layoffs.
It isn’t the first layoff that Unity Technologies had to face recently as just last year, the San Francisco-based company let go of several employees in January and May and later around 265 people in November. Unity has been in chaos since the introduction of install fee policy in September, causing some developers to shift to other platforms. This eventually led then-CEO John Riccitiello to resign in October.
According to their regulatory filing, this action is being taken in order to restructure and refocus on their core business, as well as position themselves for long-term and profitable growth. However, Unity has stated to IGN that they would continue supporting the employees affected by the layoff. They asked for the support of community and stakeholders during this massive change.
The report has faced some unique reactions from fans. One hoped the American company to fail due to this major step and be bought by a more competent company. Meanwhile, another fan claimed Unity Technologies would have record profits in this quarter.
What other studios have been affected by layoffs in 2024?
Unity is not the only company in the gaming industry that have fallen victim to this layoff trend, as over 10,000 employees were dismissed from their jobs. The Danish game developers, Slipgate Ironworks, also laid off employees because of the parent company Embracer’s ongoing restructuring program. Embracer had to take this major step because of the failure of their $2 billion investment deal, which also resulted in the closure of studios Volition, Campfire Cabal, and Free Radical Design.
The Independent VR studio Archiact, who has worked on titles like Doom 3: VR Edition, Freediver: Triton Down, and Marvel Dimension of Heroes, also let go of an undisclosed number of employees. The VR studio took to their official X (formerly known as Twitter) account to support the impacted employees, asking studios who are hiring to reach out to them.
It would be interesting to see how many more studios will lay off their employees in 2024. Nevertheless, we will keep you updated about all the significant things happening in the gaming industry.
