Unity is officially merging with IronSource, but game developers are concerned about the bad precedent this could set for the industry.

Studios large and small rely on Unity to make games. If you’ve ever played Among Us, Pokémon Go, Beat Saber, or Genshin Impact, you’ve experienced the engine’s power firsthand. IronSource, on the other hand, doesn’t have the same reputation. The software company is responsible for InstallCore, a piece of software that attempts to install unwanted software alongside your target program, and is often host to malware. Developers may be uncomfortable with the idea that their engine is now tied to a company with an unscrupulous past, but it seems most gamers are unaffected by the awkward business move.

"I don't know if it's a particularly large deal," Mark Methenitis, an attorney and video game analyst, told Lifewire on Twitter. "It's certainly a large financial transaction, but given that Unity is the acquiring entity and majority owner following the closing, I think the concerns about some of Iron Source's past development work are smaller than they appear."

It will come as no surprise, but Unity’s merger with IronSource is all about money. IronSource may have a mixed track record, but it has developed tools that Unity believes will help developers monetize their games. For the average consumer, this simply means that microtransactions can become more embedded in a wider range of apps.