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"Oof" is what it sounds like wrt the whole Unity x Wētā thing. https://www.fxguide.com/quicktakes/unity-software-with-a-company-reset-walks-away-from-film-vfx-and-the-weta-deal/
So basically, the end result is that 265 people are abruptly laid off right before holidays (I hope Wētā FX can take most of them back?), and Unity essentially pissed away $1.6B. Cool, cool. (not cool at all)
@aras it's actually remarkable that Unity retains the technology. That's equivalent to locking them up indefinitely to rot while realistically nobody can work on them. Nobody wins anything but an entire range of tools are eliminated.
@sschoener no, Weta FX can also use the technology. So it will not entirely rot, but yeah will definitely rot away on unity's side.
@aras I hope so, but the WetaFX statement is a bit ambiguous, I think? I.e. Unity owns the tools but WetaFX has "the right to build and extend the IP, and develop its own tools and techniques." Not sure if "the IP" is the same as "the tech". Not a lawyer but my first reading essentially was "WetaFX can reuse the product name."
@aras though yes you are right, they explicitly allow continued use. Just not sure about further development.
@sschoener @aras I expect they had that carve-out because many of the tools would have been critical to the VFX business and needed to be evolved independently anyway.
@agrant let's hope so. Would be a shame otherwise! I always particularly enjoyed that grooming tool they made.