Mike Acton and Andreas Fredriksson join Unity Technologies from Insomniac Games, bringing expertise to Unity’s creation engine

SAN FRANCISCO, November 8, 2017 -- Unity Technologies (https://unity3d.com/), creator of the world’s most popular creation engine that reaches nearly three billion devices worldwide, announced today that it has hired Mike Acton and Andreas Fredriksson as Principal Engineers, two AAA engine and performance experts who bring best-in-class expertise to Unity. Acton and Fredriksson will be based out of Unity’s new Los Angeles office in Burbank, CA.

“Mike and Andreas have built a legacy in data-oriented programming and best-in-class AAA engine development. We are thrilled to announce that both are joining Unity Technologies,” said Joachim Ante, Co-Founder, and Chief Technology Officer. “Applying the lessons of data-oriented design is a core part of the future of Unity Technologies. Mike and Andreas are the obvious choices to propel us towards that future.”

Prior to Unity, Acton served as the Engine Director for more than ten years at Insomniac Games, developing its internal, proprietary game engine, most recently focused on pushing boundaries in game development optimization and workflow performance. With more than twenty years of experience in optimizing engines, Acton is known for both data-oriented programming and design as well as deep technical leadership. Acton’s frequent lectures have inspired thousands of programmers to challenge traditional development methods.

“We can’t wait to make state-of-the-art performance accessible to everyone,” said Mike Acton, newly hired Principal Engineer at Unity Technologies. “We want Unity to set a new industry bar for out-of-the-box, raw performance and feel strongly that with our industry experience, we can make this happen.”

Fredriksson also comes to Unity from Insomniac games, where his work and presentations on low-level optimization have quickly become a must-have, definitive guide for developers all over the world looking to understand software and hardware bottlenecks and achieve higher performance in real-world systems and conditions. In addition to his extensive experience at Insomniac Games, Fredriksson also worked at DICE as a Senior Engineer on the Frostbite engine team.

Unity exists to democratize development, solve hard problems and enable success -- three core values that are the driving forces of Unity’s adoption by millions of creators. Games and experiences made with Unity reach more than three billion devices worldwide and were installed more than 16 billion times in 2016 alone.

About Unity Technologies

Unity Technologies is the creator of a flexible and high-performance end-to-end development platform used to create rich interactive 2D, 3D, VR and AR games and experiences. Unity's powerful graphics engine and full-featured editor serve as the foundation to develop beautiful games or apps and easily bring them to multiple platforms: mobile devices, home entertainment systems, personal computers, and embedded systems. Unity also offers solutions and services for creating games, boosting productivity, and connecting with audiences including Unity Ads, Unity Analytics, Unity Asset Store, Unity Cloud Build, Unity Collaborate, Unity Connect and Unity Certification. Unity Technologies serves large publishers and filmmakers, indie studios, students and hobbyists around the globe. For more information, visit: http://unity3d.com to see the latest games and experiences created in Unity, go to: http://madewith.unity.com.

Contacts
Unity Technologies
Amanda Taggart, 310-980-9587
Unity Communications
amandat@unity3d.com
or
Alexis McDowel, 415-988-5996
alexis@unity3d.com