Unity, the world's leading platform for creating interactive 3D content, announced Nov. 9 it has finalized an agreement to acquire Weta Digital and its resources.
The goal of the acquisition is to create access to Weta's highly regarded visual effects tools and provide them to millions of creators and artists. Unity seeks to integrate the tools into the Unity platform and usher in the next generation of virtual environments.
"Combining the power of Unity and Weta Digital, the tools and technology that built characters and scenes from the world’s most iconic films such as "Avatar," "Lord of the Rings," and "Wonder Woman," will enable an entirely new generation of creators to build, transform, and distribute stunning RT3D content," John Riccitiello, president and CEO of Unity said in a press release.
Weta Digital joins Unity's Create Solutions department, which is focused on evolving proprietary graphics and visual effects tools, as well as innovation in the 3D and virtual environment spaces, according to the release.
Weta Digital's Chairman and Co-Founder, Sir Peter Jackson, shared his excitement with the partnership.
“Weta Digital’s tools created unlimited possibilities for us to bring to life the worlds and creatures that originally lived in our imaginations," he said. "Together, Unity and Weta Digital can create a pathway for any artist, from any industry, to be able to leverage these incredibly creative and powerful tools. Offering aspiring creatives access to Weta Digital’s technology will be nothing short of game changing and Unity is just the company to bring this vision to life.”
Riccitiello shares Jackson's sentiment.
“We are thrilled to democratize these industry-leading tools and bring the genius of Sir Peter Jackson and Weta’s amazing engineering talent to life for artists everywhere," he said.
With the transaction, Unity acquires Weta's 275 engineers, dozens of industry-leading tools, a foundational data platform for interoperable 3D art creation, and a library of thousands of assets that the WetaFX team continues to add to.