Unity shuts down offices, cancels town hall meeting after death threats

Death threats have been made against multiple Unity Technology offices around the United States today, leading to the cancellation of several planned town hall meetings that were going to address this week’s huge backlash.

The game engine developers have been “fully cooperating with law enforcement” and have closed two offices that were suggested to be likely targets.

A Unity spokesperson told Bloomberg the company has “taken immediate and proactive measures to ensure the safety of our employees” in response to the threats.

These death threats come days after Unity announced a controversial new fee scheme on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Unity’s plan to procure a runtime fee from the titles using their software sent shockwaves through the gaming scene.

Unity developers announced they’d be charging $0.20 per install for its Personal and Plus versions. This also included a scaling fee depending on whether game developers used their Pro or Enterprise software. The new pay-per-install plan is still currently set to commence on Jan. 1, 2024.

This revelation sparked outrage throughout the gaming community, not only with fans but developers too. People noted these new fees could result in game developers owing more money to Unity Technology than they would’ve received in profits.

The engine devs have since tried to explain roughly 90 percent of their clientele wouldn’t be impacted by these fee changes. They also elaborated that developers would only pay once for an installation, and not be forced into an ongoing revenue share model. These short updates have, so far, failed to change the discourse surrounding the topic.

Chief executive John Riccitiello’s decision to sell 2000 shares six days before the announcement has also seemed to stoke the flames. Riccitello sold a total of 50,000 shares this year, all while not purchasing a single one.

Dot Esports has reached out to Unity Technology for further details.

Update Sept. 15, 2023 (1:00AM CT): A Unity spokesperson responded to Dot Esports saying: “Today, we have been made aware 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 are closing our offices today and tomorrow that could be potential targets for this threat, and are fully cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation.”