Earlier this week, Unity announced changes to its engine licensing agreement that could see developers charged a fee each time their game was installed. The announcement was received poorly by the development community, and now, the company has closed its offices in Austin and San Francisco as a result of what it calls a credible death threat (per Bloomberg).
In a statement to Bloomberg, a Unity spokesperson said that the company has “taken immediate and proactive measures to ensure the safety of our employees” following “a potential threat to some of our offices.” The closure is expected to last until at least the weekend.
It comes alongside the cancelation of a planned town hall event, where Unity CEO John Riccitiello was going to talk to company staff at large. Reportedly, the backlash within the company has been as significant as the one from developers, with employees taking to X (Twitter) to explain that the decision to change the licensing agreement was not widely supported internally. According to Jono Forbes, an employee who left Unity following the announcement, more resignations will occur over the coming days.
Meanwhile, Unity has tried to clarify its messaging about the planned new fees, including noting that it will work with developers to identify illegitimate installs and that demos and free trials will not count towards the installation threshold, but many developers continue to express disdain towards the entire situation. Chandana Ekanayake from Thirsty Suitors developer Outerloop Games, for example, calls the solutions “short sighted and predatory” while Rami Ismail from Vlambeer says it “remains an enormous uncertainty for developers, a retro-active adjustment to terms, an absurd amount of extra tracking, a technical impossibility, & the only business model that can bankrupt you.”
While the anger and disappointment from developers and gamers can be justified, however, we at The Escapist condemn the use of violence and death threats. The safety of employees is paramount, and hopefully Unity can resolve these issues quickly.
