What just happened? Unity, the San Francisco-based developer behind the game engine of the same name, is parting ways with hundreds of employees as part of planned cost-cutting measures. Unity confirmed the layoffs in a statement to Protocol, noting the decision would impact approximately four percent of its workforce. That equates to just over 200 employees based on numbers from last year's SEC 10-K form.

The company said it decided to realign some of its resources to better drive focus and support their long-term growth. "We are grateful for the contributions of those leaving Unity and we are supporting them through this difficult transition," a spokesperson told the publication.

The software specialist was founded in 2004 and went public in late 2020. Last year was a bit of a roller coaster ride but 2022 has mostly been a downward-sliding slope. Year to date, Unity's share value has dropped more than 72 percent.

Sources familiar with the matter told Kotaku that Unity held an all-hands meeting roughly two weeks ago in which CEO John Riccitiello assured employees that the company was not in financial trouble and that nobody would be laid off.

Kotaku said Unity will pay employees that have been laid off for an extra month and is offering additional severance and health insurance coverage afterwards.

As Protocol highlights, Unity's primary competitor is Epic Games. Unlike Epic, Unity doesn't develop any of its own games and instead relies solely on licensing fees from its engine for revenue. As of writing, Unity has a market cap around $11.14 billion.