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Unity Technologies officially files to go public with an IPO

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Unity Technologies, creator on the Unity game engine has now formally applied for IPO (initial public offering) and the documents are pretty revealing.

In these documents, they do show just how popular they are with the Unity game engine. They mentioned that they had approximately 1.5 million "monthly active creators" across over 190 countries. That's seriously impressive, with a lot of people hooked into the Unity ecosystem. That was clear though, considering the amount of games releasing all the time powered by Unity.

Their revenue continues to grow as well from "$380.8 million to $541.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2019, respectively, representing year-over-year growth of 42%, and from $252.8 million to $351.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2020, respectively, representing period-over-period growth of 39%". So they're clearly pulling in plenty but the numbers aren't entirely rosy though, they're taking on plenty of losses too. Quoting again from the documents they had "net losses for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2019, and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2020, of $131.6 million, $163.2 million, $67.1 million and $54.1 million, respectively, which included $20.9 million, $44.5 million, $14.8 million and $21.7 million, respectively, of stock-based compensation expense".

Even in their risk factor summary bullet-point list, they make it very clear that they may not "achieve or sustain profitability in the future". That's probably quite common to read in such documents but still not exactly a good look as a whole, doesn't fill with any sort of confidence.

If you're a Unity game developer, this is probably going to be quite concerning. Having more investors means many more people to keep happy. They key point is, will that result in a healthier company and a better game engine? Eyebrows must be raised from many game developers I'm sure. Thankfully, there's quite a lot of choice now when it comes to the tech you can use to design games. This includes various high-quality free and open source tech too from full games engines to cross-platform middleware including:

…and so on. That's a really small list, the point is there's loads of choice. I don't want to sound alarmist and certainly not an intention, the point is to keep options open and be aware of what else is available.

Feel free to comment on how you feel about the IPO and offer suggestions for alternatives if you wish to as well.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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11 comments
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jarhead_h Aug 25, 2020
They are living the tech sector dream - build up proprietary app, service, whatever, cook their books for public consumption, and then have a bunch of insiders give you a ton of money for your golden parachute so that they can turn around and make money off the hype in their casino. Behold, the IPO.
Sudo_halt Aug 25, 2020
Stride Game Engine (formerly known as Xenko) is also a free/open game engine, with a pretty nice 3D renderer and support for modern technologies.
It is a C# native engine, so if you're (for whatever reason) looking for a Unity alternative, you can check it out.
TheSHEEEP Aug 25, 2020
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This makes me really glad I decided to use Godot for my side and future projects...

Can't trust a project or company once public trading is involved, as now the primary goal becomes profit, profit, profit. At all costs.


Last edited by TheSHEEEP on 25 August 2020 at 8:05 pm UTC
Solarwing Aug 26, 2020
I think this is the beginning of the end.I don't either trust the new investors who will buy shares from Unity. It's like what happens in social security system in my country. It will fall unto wrong hands and then it's always a question of profits with maximum low costs. All I can do now is to console myself with legendary German proverb which I learned in school:"Wenn Ich traurig bin, esse ich Kartoffelchips.". What that means? Well try to find it out by yourself!
ageres Aug 26, 2020
Can't wait for lootboxes with assets in Unity Asset Store.
CFWhitman Aug 26, 2020
A company becoming a public corporation is pretty much never a good thing for its customers. This is especially the case for non mainstream customers. It's like when Snapple (at the time a regional fruit drink company in the U.S.) was bought up by a large corporation: No more strawberry lemonade. This is beside the fact that private businesses are as moral as their management, while public corporations gradually become as moral as their bank accounts.

Spoiler, click me
If I am sad, I eat potato chips.
Eike Aug 26, 2020
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Quoting: SolarwingAll I can do now is to console myself with legendary German proverb which I learned in school:"Wenn Ich traurig bin, esse ich Kartoffelchips.". What that means? Well try to find it out by yourself!

:D

I never heard that one (and Google neither). Still, nice!
( And I really hope that's not even a little obstacle for your consolation.)
ageres Aug 26, 2020
Quoting: GuestUntil other economic systems or anti-corruption governments become a thing, Linux will continue to be relegated to socialized support from around the Internet from random individuals and groups.
ageres Aug 26, 2020
Quoting: GuestHow is Russia anti-corruption? Russia is an oligarchy/kleptocracy and extremely corrupt, lol.
I hinted at The Great Linux Revolution, not at Russia.
chr Aug 26, 2020
Quoting: Guest
Quoting: ageres
Quoting: GuestUntil other economic systems or anti-corruption governments become a thing, Linux will continue to be relegated to socialized support from around the Internet from random individuals and groups.
How is Russia anti-corruption? Russia is an oligarchy/kleptocracy and extremely corrupt, lol.

The image is not directly connected to Russia nor corruption. It says:

In unity - victory
Proletariat of all countries, unite!

It remained unclear to me whether ageres intended this in support of such ideals or to mock them.
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