Following the price increase in Unity Engine usage/installation fees, the technology company announces the closure of two of its offices due to death threats.
The video game industry faces a new earthquake. This time, it is a technical issue that affects many games, companies and development studios, especially those that do not have as many resources. Yes, we are talking about the Unity case again.
In case you haven’t figured out what this issue is about, we’ll briefly summarize it for you. Unitythe company that owns one of the most used graphics engines, has made a controversial decision.
Not only have engine usage fee prices increased, but developers will have to pay a higher amount (than the previous rate) for each installation of a private user…even if it is the same one on several occasions.
This decision affects studios such as HoYoverse (Genshin Impact), Facepunch Studios (RUST), Studio MDHR (Cuphead), Moon Studios (Ori) or even Team Cherry (Hollow Knight: Silksong).
From Unity they call for calm, indicating that some information has been distorted. For example, they clarify that this will not affect the vast majority of titles, nor to installations carried out through subscription services como PS Plus o Xbox Game Pass.
Earthquake in Unity
According to information provided by Jason Schreier (formerly of Kotaku, now at Bloomberg), Unity falters with each passing minute. CEO John Riccitiello has attempted to calm the waters with a public meeting, but it has not been possible to hold one.
Apparently, the meeting has been canceled for the same reason that Unity has closed two of its offices. Specifically, its facilities in Austin (Texas) and San Francisco (California).
The reason? Unity employees in these offices would have received threats of death in the last hours, even fearing for his life.
There is no detailed information about these threats, although the Unity organizational chart insists that They are “very real”. The company really fears for the safety of its workers.
Here’s what a Unity spokesperson told Kotaku:
”Today we were informed of a potential threat to some of our offices. We have taken immediate and proactive measures to ensure the safety of our employees, which is our top priority. “We will close our offices today and tomorrow that could be potential targets of this threat and we are cooperating fully with authorities in the investigation.”
This closure in Austin and San Francisco It will last until at least tomorrow (Friday, September 15)but it is not ruled out to extend it during the next few days, until the investigation is concluded.
At Hobby Consolas we do not justify these threats under any circumstances, although we also understand the indignation of many developers, who will now have to pay 20 cents for each time a user installs one of your games con Unity Engine.
Unity is experiencing one of its worst moments in recent years, in the eye of the hurricane, and with its shares plummeting on the stock market. These are the games that could disappear (like Cult of the Lamb) from digital stores in the coming months.
