Unity Software, the video games company behind the Unity game engine, is cutting approximately 25% of its staff—around 1,800 employees—in a new round of layoffs.

The company, whose engine is used for lucrative games such as Pokemon Go, Hearthstone, Subnautica, and Pillars of Eternity, is reducing headcount to “position itself for long-term and profitable growth,” according to a new regulatory filing.

The technology firm expects for most of the costs and charges in connection with the layoffs to be largely incurred in the first quarter of the year, suggesting that the majority of affected employees will be let go by March.

This the fourth round of layoffs by Unity since the start of January 2023, with the company previously reducing its staff count in November. That layoff led to 3.8% of its workforce—or approximately 265 jobs—being cut.

Prior to November’s layoff round, the firm was surrounded by controversy after trying to introduce new fees for developers utilising its engine if specific thresholds for game installations and revenue were met. Smaller-scale indie developers were particularly in opposition to these changes.

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Following the announcement, the company wrote an open letter apologising to the game developer community, stating that “We should have spoken with more of you and we should have incorporated more of your feedback before announcing our new Runtime Fee policy.”

The community’s response led Unity to alter its approach and make amendments to the policies and fees. A few weks later, Unity’s CEO, John Riccitiello, stepped down.

The company, which was originally founded in Denmark as Over the Edge Entertainment in 2004—the year before the Unity engine was first released—is now curently headed by Jim Whitehurst and is based in San Francisco.