Unity CEO Matt Bromberg talks “strengthening the bond with our community” at Q2 financials roll out

• Revenue came in at $426 million which is down 6% year-over-year but ahead of a guidance of $420 to $425 million
• “We have everything we need to achieve healthy, sustainable and profitable growth”

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Unity have announced their Q2 2024 financials alongside their latest letter to shareholder from new CEO Matt Bromberg, marking his first time in the hotseat while giving some firm pointers as to where the company – whose software is still the driving force behind 70% of mobile games – is heading.

Revenue from the company’s strategic portfolio came in at $426 million which is down 6% year-over-year but ahead of a guidance of $420 to $425 million. Unity’s GAAP net loss for the quarter was $126 million, compared to a net loss of $193 million in the second quarter of 2023 and a net loss of $291 million in the first quarter of this year.

Adjusted EBITDA for the company for the quarter came in at $113 million compared to $88 million for the same quarter last year.

Green shoots of good news

These are results that show a company in the midst of a turnaround and Bromberg is keen to build on the fresh start he’s put in place.

“Today, Iʼm even more optimistic about our potential than the day I began,” writes Bromberg in his first shareholder’s letter. “That optimism is grounded in more than 10 years of working with some of the best game teams in the world, building in every genre, using five different engines and publishing across every platform.”

There’s no questioning that newbie CEO Bromberg certainly has a job to do, but by leaning on his experience and – by these first numbers – turning the ship around, Unity’s tone is now one of confidence and ability to get the job done.

“We have everything we need to achieve healthy, sustainable and profitable growth,” Bromberg said on their earnings call. “Our vision for Unity is clear. We believe we can become the only company truly capable of supporting game developers through the entire product lifecycle. From the prototyping of a new game, to that magic moment where our creation meets its players.” 

12 disastrous months later…

It’s been quite the year for Unity with their attempts to address losses through the introduction of surprise new fees backfiring spectacularly at the end of last year. The bungle lead to outcry from Unity’s usually stalwart user base, leading to an exodus of senior staff and 2024’s upfront desire to reset company culture and policy and put the past behind them.

“The focus now is on fostering a culture of execution, discipline, and accountability,” admits Bromberg earnestly. “We plan to accelerate the pace of product innovation, strengthen the bond we have with our customers and community, and add world class talent to the team. We understand what needs to be improved, and we are making the necessary changes in our leadership, products, and processes with a sense of real urgency.” 

And it’s clear that gaming’s big prize remains theirs for the taking. Despite an upswell of dissenting voices and an mutterings to leave the platform it seems that the size of the market and the passion for Unity’s products has survived the upheaval.

“Mobile gaming represents 60% of the roughly $130 billion of consumer app spending annually, and 70% of the top mobile games in the world are built on Unity. In 2023 there were an average of 3.7 billion downloads of applications made with Unity per month,” Bromberg confirms.

Leavers and joiners

And, of course, one can’t have a bold new agenda without making a few sacrifices along the way – and Unity certainly haven’t been shy about shedding staff as part of Bromberg’s clean sweep.

“Today, we announced the departure of Luis Visoso, our chief financial officer,” writes Bromberg in his letter. “We thank Luis for all of his contributions and wish him well as he pursues a new opportunity.”

Visoso has only been with the company since April 2021, having previously held managerial roles at Palo Alto Networks, Amazon Web Services and Procter & Gamble.

The role will now be filled by current chief accounting officer, Mark Barrysmith as interim CFO as the search for a new, permanent replacement begins.

Additionally today’s announcement also cossetted the appointment of Jim Payne as Unity’s new chief product officer for advertising – highlighting the importance of Unity ads in their forthcoming plans for profit. “Jim was the co-founder of MoPub, the worldʼs largest mobile in-app ad server and exchange (acquired by Twitter in 2013 and subsequently acquired by Applovin), as well as the founder of MAX Advertising systems, a mobile header bidding platform (acquired by Applovin in 2018),” writes Bromberg.

Payne’s appointment joins Unity’s recently hired new SVP of corporate development, Alex Blum. “Alex is another deeply experienced executive, having invested in, operated, or incubated more than 10 ad tech companies,” according to Unity’s statement.

Big plans ahead

With Unity 6 – the latest version of the company’s flagship, feature-packed development software – still on schedule for release in the fall and the Unity Unite event taking place on September 15th to 16th in Barcelona next month, all eyes will be on the company and its new management team as to whether they can continue on the turnaround trail.