Unity Engine’s Installation-Based Fee Prompts Backlash From Game Developers: Details

Cross-platform game engine Unity has angered indie developers around the world by announcing a major change to its fee structure. The company has introduced a new “Unity Runtime Fee” that will charge studios every time a game built on its engine is installed. The new pricing structure will take effect on January 1, 2024, with different installation fees levied based on multiple subscription levels. Developers are understandably upset and confused and are starting to speak out against the rules and their lack of clarity, which could easily put them out of business. While this only applies to a select group of developers who reach a defined sales or download threshold, a revenue share model would be ideal.

“Yes, this is a price increase that will only affect a small percentage of current Unity Editor users. The vast majority of Unity Editor users currently pay nothing and will not be affected by this change,” the company said outlined in a statement. tweet. The threshold is determined based on the plan chosen by the developer. Smaller creators relying on Unity Personal and Unity Plus models will be forced to pay $0.20 (approximately Rs. 17) per download once a game crosses $200,000 in revenue (approx. Rs. 16.5 crore) and reaches 200,000 installs in a year. . The annual fee paid to Unity is approximately $40,000 (approximately Rs. 33 lakh). Meanwhile, the revenue threshold for AAA developers using Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise accounts is set at $1 million (approximately Rs 8 crore) and 1 million lifetime installs before levying runtime charges.

“We chose this because the Unity Runtime is also installed every time a game is downloaded. Additionally, we believe that, unlike revenue sharing, a fee based on the initial install allows creators to derive ongoing financial benefits from player participation,” Unity wrote in the original blog post.Initially, the company claimed that removing and reinstalling the game on the same system would also count towards the charge, but has since walk back The statement said developers only pay upon first installation. That said, developers will face additional costs if the same game is downloaded to different systems.

Angry developers have since rallied around the internet to point out how these rules would put them out of business. One could simply pirate a game, download and delete it, and then repeat the process on a different system to increase the studio’s supposed expense. In response, Unity mentioned its ongoing “fraud detection practices” that will be used as a starting point to prevent studios from being charged for games that were never sold. Basically, the company doesn’t have a suitable answer for this and is looking for one. “We recognize that users will have concerns and we will provide a process for them to submit their concerns to our fraud compliance team,” blog post read.

In addition to piracy, freemium games that earn revenue through in-game purchases will also be affected by Unity’s new rules – essentially being forced to pay more than they earn simply because it earns millions of times in a year download. Fortunately, if a game is downloaded through a subscription program like Xbox Game Pass, its distributor (in this case, Microsoft) will be charged a fee. Likewise, there is no charge for games provided by charities or even demo installations. However, it’s not transparent how Unity tracks these install numbers, other than claiming they trust the accuracy of their “proprietary data model.”

In retaliation, some developers have expressed their distaste for Unity, starting with Massive Monster, who threatened to remove their critically acclaimed roguelike Cult of the Lamb from the store starting January 1st. The studio is focused on Unity and has multiple projects in the pipeline, all of which have now been delayed as the team figures out a new engine and workflow.Even Innersloth, the developer of pandemic-era blockbuster Among Us, confirmed IGN Pulling the game from storefronts is on the list of plans.

When you consider how many hit games the Unity engine has given birth to (Genshin Impact, Cuphead, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rust, and Hollow Knight, just to name a few), the reaction is completely Makes sense.The last of them even had a highly anticipated sequel planned – Silksong, which is postponed earlier this year For better polishing. Now, fans are concerned that it could be delayed further if developer Team Cherry decides to rebuild it on a new engine. There has been no official comment from the studio yet.