Larry Hryb needs little introduction for long-term Xbox fans. Better known as Major Nelson, he left Microsoft in 2023 after more than 20 years with the company to pursue new opportunities.
In 2024, Hryb joined Unity as Director of Community and Advocacy. He held the role for 18 months before confirming today that he has been laid off.
In a statement on X and BlueSky, Hryb stated:
As many of you have been with me during my career in gaming, I'd like to share personal news. Like many in the gaming space recently, I've been laid off from UnityAfter leaving Microsoft, I joined the Unity team in 2024. I am proud of the goals my team and I accomplished in just 18 months, and I am grateful for the creators and teams I had the chance to support. Now, I am excited to explore the next chapter.I've had invigorating conversations over the past weeks with companies in tech and non-tech spaces to discuss partnerships. I love what I do but I also believe change is necessary. I'll let you know where I go from here.
Larry Hryb
Hopefully, he can land on his feet and find new work swiftly, but as for Unity, this isn’t the first time they’ve laid off staff, and the company's public image has suffered over changes made in the past couple of years, an image that doesn’t seem to be recovering.
Unity’s ongoing layoffs and the company’s reputation
Unity has repeatedly found itself in trouble over the past several years. It began cutting staff in 2022, when more than 150 employees were let go as part of cost cutting measures, followed by another round in 2023 that saw more than 280 jobs lost.
The list goes on, but the biggest spout of drama came in September 2023, when Unity announced a major change to its pricing model. It introduced a runtime fee that would charge developers each time a Unity made game was installed once certain thresholds were reached.
The decision triggered widespread backlash across the industry. Many developers publicly said they would move away from Unity in favor of engines like Godot or Unreal, and even though Unity later walked back the runtime fee in September 2024, the damage to its reputation had already been done.
There could be one saving grace for Unity, however, as they recently partnered with Fortnite to bring Unity based games to the Fortnite platform.
What do you think about Major Nelson’s exit from Unity and the company’s ongoing struggles? Share your thoughts in the comments and make sure to take part in our poll below:
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