For a short time, the future of some online games was at stake, as the developers of the SpatialOS technology stated that the Unity engine would no longer allow such third-party software. For MMORPGs like Worlds Adrift, the outlook looked really bleak in the short term.
What happened? Improbable, the developers of the “Wonders” technology SpatialOS, were excluded from the Unity program and lost the license to use the engine.
The reason for this is that their technology apparently violates the terms of use of the Unity engine. These new terms of use came into effect on December 5th.
However, some of the most interesting MMORPGs are being developed with SpatialOS and the Unity engine. These could fall victim to a dispute between Unity and Improbable.
Where is the problem? It’s about the fact that no parts of the Unity engine may be executed or simulated in a cloud or via streaming, thus essentially representing an own platform.
But SpatialOS operates over the cloud.
This is why Improbable is going on the offensive: The company states that this change in the terms of use poses a threat to many online games that use Unity and SpatialOS. This includes the MMORPG Worlds Adrift from Bossa Studios.
According to Improbable, the development studios that create MMOs with the Unity engine and SpatialOS may also be violating the license agreement with Unity, placing themselves in a legal gray area.
The MMORPG Worlds Adrift then tweeted that a “situation” is looming.
Not so bad
This is Unity’s take: Unity has now commented on the situation. According to company co-founder Joachim Ante, there is no danger for Unity games that already use SpatialOS or are developed with this technology.
He expressed disappointment that Improbable has overdramatized the situation and misrepresented it.
According to Joachim Ante, Unity has been in talks with Improbable for about a year. So the whole situation did not come as a surprise to the developer of SpatialOS.
So what is the problem now? Unity continues to allow game companies to use SpatialOS for existing and in-development projects.
Worlds Adrift will not be shut down.
However, Improbable uses the Unity engine in its own software development kit in a cloud, which, according to Unity’s terms of use, constitutes a separate platform.
This is only allowed if it concerns recognized Unity platform partners. And Improbable is not one of them.
According to Unity, they were in negotiations to include the company in the partner program. However, this did not happen, which is why Improbable has now lost its license.
Improbable wants to lure developers to Unreal Engine
How does Improbable respond? The company Improbable states that it is a “commercial misunderstanding” that now affects developer studios. They are still in talks with Unity to find a solution together.
In the meantime, Improbable has entered into a partnership with Epic Games and surprised with the announcement of a $25 million fund that developers can use to transfer their projects to the Unreal Engine.
Studios are essentially being persuaded to no longer use the Unity engine but to switch to the Unreal Engine.
It remains questionable whether this step will help the negotiations between Improbable and Unity bear fruit.
