Unity turned the industry upside down by announcing changes to its fees aimed at developers. In its new terms of use, the company included an additional fee that would be charged for each installed game developed on its engine. After the public outcry, it seems that Unity has backtracked, or at least that’s what they have hinted at on their social media.
After the controversial announcement, developers like Innersloth (Among Us) or Massive Monster (Cult of the Lamb) expressed their opposition to such policies, which they described as “abusive.” Days later, Unity has stepped in to announce that they will not proceed with these new fees, or at least not in the way they initially stated.
Through their official X profile, Unity clarifies that they have “listened to the users” and that they “apologize for the confusion […]. We are listening and talking to members of our team, the community, customers, and peers, and we will make changes to our policy.”
What does Unity’s new policy consist of?
Both studios and developers were up in arms when they saw Unity’s new fees, as they posed a real threat to their earnings. Since 2016, Unity operated on a subscription-based model. Additionally, it had a free option aimed at personal use or for small studios that didn’t generate more than $200,000 annually with their game developed on the engine.
Starting in 2021, Unity began requiring console game developers to have a paid license. However, this latest change in Unity’s usage policy has proven to be much more aggressive than previous ones. Known as the Runtime fee, it involves charging a fee based on the number of times a game (developed with Unity) is installed.
These new fees include the following:
- If the game was created with a free Unity license, developers will be charged $0.20 for each installation. This will happen as long as they have exceeded $200,000 in revenue over the last 12 months and when the title has surpassed 200,000 installations.
- For those subscribed to the following paid versions of Unity, the fee can range from $0.15 to $0.01. In this case, you would also need to surpass one million dollars in revenue and installations.
