MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Unity Technologies, the creator of one of the industry’s biggest development platforms, has acquired live ops management service, deltaDNA. According to a press release from Unity Technologies, deltaDNA – which is used by companies such as Sega, Bethesda, Take Two Interactive, Viacom, Bandai Namco, and 505 Game – will continue to operate as a separate entity, “providing its engine agnostic player lifetime management tools to developers worldwide”.
DeltaDNA’s “engagement solution” will be integrated with the Unity Engine “to provide unparalleled player lifecycle management”. “With deltaDNA, Unity game developers will be able to engage individual players to improve player experience, increasing retention, and building a robust, profitable business,” a press release said.
This is Unity’s third acquisition in 12 months following its purchase of cross-platform voice and text chat Vivox, and “next-generation filmmaking”, Digital Monarch Media.
“Operating your game just got a whole lot better. DeltaDNA and Unity have always worked well together, but the possibility of a fully integrated workflow is a game-changer for everyone involved,” said Mark Robinson, CEO and founder, deltaDNA. “By joining Unity, current deltaDNA users will continue to receive tailored support, now with the backing of mobile gaming’s most successful engine, and Unity’s developers will have more seamless access to our advanced analytics and engagement tools.”
“Today’s acquisition of deltaDNA builds on Unity’s commitment to enabling developer success at all stages of the game life cycle, from creation onwards,” added Ingrid Lestiyo, general manager, monetization, Unity Technologies. “DeltaDNA helps developers deeply understand their players, optimize their games and increase revenue. We’re excited to welcome deltaDNA into the Unity family, and to extend the reach of their real-time engagement capabilities to creators around the world.”
The company recently confirmed it had secured additional investment. After a tender offer for common shareholders of up to $525 million, Unity Technologies’ worth doubled to an estimated $6 billion. As the tender offer is open to all common shareholders – the majority of which are current and former employers of the firm – this “marks a significant milestone” and the “opportunity for some liquidity to [Unity’s] dedicated employees who have worked so hard to make Unity the company that it is today”.
Unity sought $125 million in additional Series E funding back in May 2019. Stock authorisation filings that were confirmed by a Unity spokesperson to be accurate indicated the tech firm was seeking additional Series E funding, boosting the company’s value up to an estimated $5.96 billion at the time.
The latest iteration of the game engine software, Unity 2019.1, is now available. This latest version includes a host of “notable changes for all developers”, particularly for those working on mobile platforms. In June, the company announced Unity Reflect, the “first of its kind real-time building information modelling (BIM) tool for architecture, engineering and construction professionals”.
