Unity has had to close two offices following a death threat

Unity had to close two of its offices and cancel a planned town hall meeting following a death threat.

As reported by Bloomberg, the software development company has shut down its Austin, TX and San Francisco, CA buildings following what was reportedly a “credible death threat”.

“Today we have been made aware of a potential threat to some of our offices,” a statement from Unity reads.

“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 which could be potential targets for this threat, and are fully cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation.”

According to a subsequent report by Polygon, San Francisco Police were told that “an employee made a threat towards his employer using social media”.

Unity has faced major backlash from developers after announcing plans to charge them every time a game that uses its Unity engine is installed.

Starting in January 2024, the new Unity Runtime Fee will apply to games that meet a minimum revenue threshold and have passed a minimum lifetime install count.

Further reading

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Unity is adding a royalty fee based on the number of times a game is installed

The fee, which has attracted criticism from some developers, will be introduced in 2024

The announcement sparked outrage among some members of the development community, who said the new fee structure was ill-conceived, unfavourable to game makers, and could be open to abuse.

Developers questioned why Unity had decided to introduce fees that could penalise them for placing their game in a big sale or deciding to include it in a charity bundle or a subscription service like Xbox Game Pass.

Unity later attempted to clarify the terms of its plans and address some of these concerns, but has made no indication that it intends to back down on them.