Unity has announced a controversial pricing model that mainly targets developer studios. This has caused great resentment not only among developers but also among fans. As a result, Unity currently has to deal with the consequences and fears for the health of its own employees.
What is the new pricing policy from Unity about?
- The “Unity Runtime Fee” will be due every time a game is installed
- With the paid version Unity Plus, it is 20 cents per installation for a revenue of over $200,000 in the last 12 months and more than 200,000 lifetime installations
- For subscription models like Game Pass, the operators of the subscription are supposed to pay the fees
- Multiple installations of a game on one device should not count
- The change is set to take effect on January 1, 2024
What were the reactions to this? The reactions were extremely negative. The developers of Cult of the Lamb humorously announced that players should quickly buy the title as they would delete the game on January 1, 2024.
In addition, all games already in development would have to switch to another engine. This would take additional time.
The team has also received serious death threats against two of its offices in the USA. The threats were deemed credible. Therefore, Unity decided to cancel a planned meeting and close the offices for two days (via kotaku.com).
Unity announces changes
What does Unity plan to do now? The company announced on X that it has heard the criticism. It apologizes for the confusion and the fear that the “Unity Runtime Fee” has caused. The team will consult with the community, customers, and partners.
Furthermore, changes will be made that the company will announce in a few days. We have translated the quote for you here:
We have heard you. We apologize for the confusion and frustration caused by the policy regarding runtime fees announced on Tuesday. We are listening, talking with our team members, our community, our customers, and partners, and will change the policy. We will release an update in a few days. We thank you for your honest and critical feedback.
It remains to be seen what changes will be made to the billing model. Some users write in the comments that they either wish for a complete rollback or a normal revenue sharing.
Others dismiss Unity’s statement as mere marketing talk. In their view, Unity wants to implement the model and is just trying to figure out how to continue with it.
We have included some reactions:
- Geoff Keighley: “Let’s wait for the changes.”
- Ogre Pixel: “We don’t need a change in the policy, we need a retraction of the changes.”
- kurotesuta: “I have spent two years learning your engine, I have amassed tons of Unity assets. Time and money, Unity, time and money!”
Both small and large developer studios are now worried about how things will proceed in the future. The changes affect not only all games that will be released in the future but also those that are already available.
The development team of Among Us, a very popular multiplayer game, is also talking about exploitation by Unity: Developers of the Steam hit Among Us call: “Stop it” – They say their engine provider is exploiting them
