Unity stock jumps 17% on Apple Vision Pro partnership

Unity shares surged 17% after Apple on Monday said it’s working with the game-development software maker as part of the release of its Vision Pro headset. The announcement, which briefly halted Unity’s trading, led to the the stock’s third-biggest jump since the company’s IPO in 2020.

Apple is working to build the third-party ecosystem of apps that people will be able to use in the $3,499 device. The iPhone maker said Adobe, Cisco and Microsoft are among the companies creating Vision Pro apps.

“We know there is a community of developers who have been building incredible 3D apps for years,” Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of worldwide developer relations, said during Apple’s keynote. “Today, we are excited to share that we’ve been working with Unity to bring those apps to Vision Pro, so popular Unity-based games and apps can gain full access to VisionOS features such as Passthrough, high-resolution rendering and native gestures.”

Unity, which helps developers incorporate advertising into their apps, was one of the companies hurt by Apple’s iOS privacy changes. CEO John Riccitiello said on an earnings call in November that Unity is one of “the very few partners there” as Apple grows in digital advertising.

A Unity spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the partnership.

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