Unity Engine’s Installation 1m1y5p Based Fee Prompts Backlash From Game Developers: Details

Developers who meet a certain threshold will be forced to pay Unity Engine a certain amount each time a game is installed. 2c4e60

Written by Rahul Chettiyar, Edited by Manas Mitul | Updated: 14 September 2023 15:20 IST

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

Photo Credit: Unity r4410

Installing games from a subscription like Xbox Game will charge Microsoft instead of the devs

Highlights

The Unity Runtime Fee goes into effect from January 1, 2024
Only the initial installation of a game triggers a fee; no re-installs
Cult of the Lamb and Among Us might get pulled from stores in retaliation

ment

Unity, the cross-platform game engine, announced big changes to its fee structure, enraging indie developers around the world. The company has introduced a new ‘Unity Runtime Fee,' that will charge studios a cost every time a game built on their engine is installed. The new pricing structure goes into effect January 1, 2024, with different install costs being levied based on its multiple subscription tiers. Understandably, developers are upset and confused and have begun speaking out against the rules and their lack of clarity, which could easily make them bankrupt. While this only applies to a certain group of developers who've hit a prescribed threshold of sales or numbers, a revenue share model would've been ideal.

“Yes, this is a price increase and it will only affect a small subset of current Unity Editor s. Today, a large majority of Unity Editor s are currently not paying anything and will not be affected by this change,” the company outlined in a tweet. The thresholds have been decided based on what plans a developer opts for. Smaller creators who rely on Unity Personal and the Unity Plus models will be forced to pay $0.20 (about Rs. 17) per , once their game crosses $200,000 (about Rs. 1.65 crore) in revenue in one year and 200,000 installs. This would amount to approximately $40,000 (about Rs. 33 lakh) in payments to Unity, every year. Meanwhile, AAA developers using the Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise s have their thresholds set at $1 million (about Rs. 8 crore) in revenue and 1 million lifetime installs, before the Runtime Fee is levied.

“We chose this because each time a game is ed, the Unity Runtime is also installed. Also, we believe that an initial install-based fee allows creators to keep the ongoing financial gains from player engagement, unlike a revenue share,” the original blog post from Unity read. Initially, the company claimed that deleting and re-installing a game on the same system would also count towards the charge, but has since walked back on the claim stating that developers would only be charged on the initial install. That said, if the same game is ed onto a different system(s), the developer will get hit with additional charges.

NEW - I got a major update from Unity about their new fees
- Unity "regrouped" and now says ONLY the initial installation of a game triggers a fee
- Demos mostly won't trigger fees
- Devs not on the hook for Game

More here:https://t.co/GCKjEeFtYR
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) September 13, 2023

Fuming developers on the Internet have since gotten together to point out how these rules could make them go bankrupt, as well. One could simply pirate a game, it and delete it, then repeat the process on different systems to add onto a studio's supposed charges. In response, Unity referred to its ongoing ‘fraud detection practices' which will be leveraged as a starting point to prevent studios from getting charged for games they never sold. Basically, the company doesn't have a proper answer for it, and is in the process of figuring it out. “We recognize that s will have concerns about this and we will make available a process for them to submit their concerns to our fraud compliance team,” the blog post reads.

In addition to piracy, freemium games that make revenue through in-game purchases will be affected by Microsoft. Similarly, games offered on charity or even demo installations are exempt from being charged. However, there's no transparency in how Unity tracks these install numbers, besides claiming that they believe in the accuracy of their ‘proprietary data model.'

In retaliation, some developers have expressed their distaste for Unity, starting with Massive Monster, which has threatened to delete their Among Us, confirmed to IGN that pulling the game from storefronts is on the list of plans.

The response is totally warranted when you consider how many popular titles have been birthed from the Unity Engine — Hollow Knight to name just a few. The last of them even had a highly-anticipated sequel planned — Silksong, which was delayed earlier this year for better polish. And now, fans are worried that it could get delayed further if developer Team Cherry decides to rebuild it on a new engine. There's no official comment from the studio yet.

What are the most exciting titles that gamers can look forward to in 2023? We discuss some of our favourites on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Cult of the Lamb 1c6z1b

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Genre Action-Adventure

Platform Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 (PS4), PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC: Windows, PC: macOS

Modes Single-player

PEGI Rating 12+

More Devolver Digital Games

Among Us 6u5im

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Genre Social Deduction

Platform Android, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 (PS4), PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, iOS, PC: Windows

Modes Multiplayer

Series Among Us

PEGI Rating 12+

More Innersloth Games

Comments

For the latest reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.