this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2023
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Unity reveals plans to charge per game install, drawing criticism from development community (www.eurogamer.net)
submitted 1 year ago by geosoco@kbin.social to c/PCGaming@kbin.social
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Unity has announced dramatic changes to its Unity Engine business model which will see its introduce a monthly fee per game install beginning on 1st January next year - a move that has already send shockwaves across the development community.

Unity - the engine behind countless acclaimed games including Tunic, Cuphead, Hollow Knight, Citizen Sleeper, RimWorld, Outer Wilds, Fall Guys, Ori and the Blind Forest, and Cities: Skylines - was previously licensed to developers using a royalty free model built around subscriptions tiers. Anyone whose revenue or funding was less than $100,000 over the course of the year (or who didn't want access to features such as the ability to remove the Unity splash screen) could stick to the free Unity Personal license, while a Unity Plus subscription was required up to $200,000 in revenue, and a Unity Pro or above subscription was needed for more.

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[–] FilthyHands@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This fee is for devolopers, not end users.

[–] geosoco@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

This is true, but the comment was about it affecting gamers, and it is expected to affect end-users.

Unity's new fees will be applied retroactively to all games already on the market that cross its revenue and install thresholds, and to all to all games regardless of price - raising questions around the viability of free game giveaways, game demos, bundles, and more - and there's concern developers may now face charges for pirated game installs. There are also questions around how the changes will complicate the logistics of being on services like Game Pass.

"... Most indies simply don't have the resources to deal with these kind of batshit logistics. Publishers are less likely to take on Unity games, because there's now a cost and an overhead,"

[–] HidingCat@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

Wow, that is fucking bs, retroactive charges is such a bait-and-switch feeling.

[–] HubertManne@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

shit. I did not even take in the retroactive part. Is that even legal???

[–] wafer@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

IANAL but surely not?

[–] FilthyHands@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

Yep, I definitely misread HubertManne's comment. My bad. Thanks for clearing it up.

I have a (pipe) dream of some day developing a game. I have only done baby steps and research here and there so far. Unity was one of my main contenders for engine, if not the top choice, mostly due to the licensing. If this new deal goes through, I couldn't possibly consider using unity.