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Let's step back in time to 2020. That's when Unity did their IPO and went public. That's the point where the company had to be concerned about shareholder returns.
In '21, Unity bought the digital tools unit of WETA. You might remember WETA as Peter Jackson's organization that produced six movies encompassing The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit? Yeah, that WETA. Here's a link describing that initial purchase by Unity two years ago. WETA's CEO said there was some apprehension about the sale, but that 'We’re Jimi Hendrix, and now we’re selling guitars," he said. "We think this world has many, many more Jimi Hendrixes.'
The concept that Unity was doing, as was the people behind the Unreal game engine, was that the movie special effects assets could be used in the game engines by actual movie makers from amateurs to professional studios. And you will see movies, if you sit through the credits, mention Unreal or Unity engines, in the credits.
Well, Unity just laid off the entire unit. Gone. I'm wondering if WETA will scoop them up again and reconstitute their FX unit.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/11/unity-lays-off-hundreds-of-weta-digital-engineers-as-it-pivots-back-to-games/
Now, this is only 4% of Unity's workforce, so not a huge hit. But it is a sign of the times, and the signs are bleak.
Other things that Unity is doing?
From the Ars article: "...in a short shareholder letter earlier this month, interim Unity CEO Jim Whitehurst announced plans "to increase our focus on our core; the Unity Editor and Runtime, and Monetization Solutions," where the company sees the most growth potential. In that letter, Whitehurst suggested that refocusing "will likely include discontinuing certain product offerings, reducing our workforce, and reducing our office footprint." And this week's filing also includes plans for Unity to close offices in 14 worldwide locations, moving most of the employees there to fully remote work in the process."
In other words, we are looking at running out of cash and need to terminate those building leases. The article also notes that Unity's stock price is down 40% from its IPO and is reporting an $859 million loss for the year ending September 2023.
They're in serious trouble.
In '21, Unity bought the digital tools unit of WETA. You might remember WETA as Peter Jackson's organization that produced six movies encompassing The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit? Yeah, that WETA. Here's a link describing that initial purchase by Unity two years ago. WETA's CEO said there was some apprehension about the sale, but that 'We’re Jimi Hendrix, and now we’re selling guitars," he said. "We think this world has many, many more Jimi Hendrixes.'
The concept that Unity was doing, as was the people behind the Unreal game engine, was that the movie special effects assets could be used in the game engines by actual movie makers from amateurs to professional studios. And you will see movies, if you sit through the credits, mention Unreal or Unity engines, in the credits.
Well, Unity just laid off the entire unit. Gone. I'm wondering if WETA will scoop them up again and reconstitute their FX unit.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/11/unity-lays-off-hundreds-of-weta-digital-engineers-as-it-pivots-back-to-games/
Now, this is only 4% of Unity's workforce, so not a huge hit. But it is a sign of the times, and the signs are bleak.
Other things that Unity is doing?
From the Ars article: "...in a short shareholder letter earlier this month, interim Unity CEO Jim Whitehurst announced plans "to increase our focus on our core; the Unity Editor and Runtime, and Monetization Solutions," where the company sees the most growth potential. In that letter, Whitehurst suggested that refocusing "will likely include discontinuing certain product offerings, reducing our workforce, and reducing our office footprint." And this week's filing also includes plans for Unity to close offices in 14 worldwide locations, moving most of the employees there to fully remote work in the process."
In other words, we are looking at running out of cash and need to terminate those building leases. The article also notes that Unity's stock price is down 40% from its IPO and is reporting an $859 million loss for the year ending September 2023.
They're in serious trouble.
