Unity is merging with a company that has a history of including malware in their software
Given that a game engine is the basis--the foundation--of a video game, it's something that both developers and players should find reliable and trustworthy; which is why many are concerned over Unity Software's new merger, with a company that has a track record of bundling malware and adware into their software installations. IronSource has been acquired by Unity for $4.4 billion, which further adds to the company's repertoire, after having bought visual effects studio Weta Digital late last year for $1.6 billion.
IronSource specializes in app monetization, usually advertisements, but they're also known throughout the tech world for having bundled sketchy downloads within their software. They were responsible for creating InstallCore, an open source SDK that served as a "cross-platform installer creation tool and ad-delivery platform" that packaged additional installers for software like RegClean Pro, DriverSupport and other toolbars, to the point that it was classified by a potentially unwanted application by antivirus software like Windows Defender and MalwareBytes, and was even referred to as full-on malware or a trojan. InstallCore was discontinued following the classification and controversy.
That isn't the only controversy that IronSource is behind, either; in 2015, Ben Edelman, an economist for web experiences, documented the insidious nature of InstallCore's programs, detailing another one of their releases, a fake Windows Snapchat client that installed five different adware programs and Android emulator Bluestacks. Unity's reasoning for the acquisition is to assist game developers with monetization, marketing, analytics, and discovery.
Our vision is to provide creators with a powerful, flexible engine that they can realize their visions through - quickly and beautifully - while introducing the tools that help them learn and better understand their audiences, helping them to more quickly iterate and improve to build a robust and scalable business from. As we move closer to this vision today, we couldn’t be more excited about bringing ironSource into the Unity family.
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