Unity on Managing Perceptions and the Potential of Cloudless Generative AI

The recent release of Unity's 2023 Gaming Report has sparked discussions about the state of the gaming industry. Despite economic concerns, the report highlighted an increase in the number of game players and games shipped across various platforms. Unity Create senior vice president and general manager Marc Whitten acknowledges the challenges faced by game developers, including softness in advertising monetization and a decline in paying players. However, he emphasizes the resilience of the gaming industry and Unity's commitment to supporting game creators. Whitten notes that the company's focus on gaming may have been misunderstood in recent years, with some perceiving that Unity had shifted its attention away from its core engine business. He assures that the Create side of the business remains a top priority, with a focus on features that help developers put pixels on screens. The separation between the Create and Grow sides of the business is not always clear-cut, as managing player engagement and driving value from players are crucial aspects of game development. Whitten cites Marvel Snap as an example of a game where Unity worked with developers to manage content delivery, highlighting the importance of supporting game creators in their endeavors. When it comes to emerging tech trends, Unity takes a thoughtful approach, considering the interest of creators and the potential for long-term support. The company is actively exploring generative AI, with a focus on ethical use and the potential to change not only content creation but also gameplay itself. Project Barracuda, Unity's neural network inference library, aims to enable runtime use of generative AI models on local devices, opening up new possibilities for game development. Finally, Whitten welcomes the trend of user-generated content-driven platforms, seeing it as an exciting opportunity for creators to express themselves and make money from their work. Unity remains committed to supporting creators in navigating walled gardens and taking their content to various platforms.