Unity offices close after death threat; staff begin to resign

The development studio behind the Unity Engine have had to close offices after death threats were lodged following a controversial new pricing policy that was announced earlier this week. According to Bloomberg, Unity cancelled a planned town hall and closed their San Francisco and Austin offices after what was deemed to be a ‘credible death threat’.

In a statement, a Unity spokesperson said they were “made aware of a potential threat to some of our offices” and have “taken immediate and proactive measures to ensure the safety of our employees.” They are “fully cooperating with law enforcement.”

As a unity employee until this morning, I assure you we fought like hell against this, brought up all the points everyone has, were told answers were coming, and then the announcement went out without warning. Those of us who care are out — more resignations coming end of week.

— Jono Forbes (@jonoforbes) September 13, 2023

Unity has been the subject of outrage after announcing an incredibly controversial pricing policy change that will see any developer using their game engine get charged $0.20 per install. It’s a move that many developers believe to be a breach of trust and a money-hungry decision that will be unsustainable for the future of devs using their engine. It’s a decision staff apparently pushed back against, with former Unity employee Jono Forbes taking to Twitter to share their frustration, saying “I assure you we fought like hell against this”.

Interestingly, Jono’s statement also implies that more Unity employees are due to leave in the coming days. It sounds like a tumultuous time for Unity staff with a lot of unrest. And whilst much of the push back feels appropriate, it must be said that death threats are never the answer.