Developers switch off Unity ads in Runtime Fee protest
A group of developers is fighting back against Unity's plan to charge for game installs by cutting off the ad and monetisation revenue they would have been sending to the engine provider.
So far 16 studios have switched off the Unity Ads and IronSource SDKs in all their titles, and say they will not restore them until the new conditions behind the few are reconsidered, MobileGamer.biz reports.
The studios within the group includes: Azur Games, Voodoo, Homa, Century Games, SayGames, CrazyLabs, Original Games, Ducky, Burny Games, Inspired Square, Geisha Tokyo, Tatsumaki Games, Kayac, New Story, Playgendary, and Supercent.
This collective has also posted an open letter calling for other developers to do the same, and a form where companies can pledge their support.
Earlier this week Unity announced that, as of January 1, 2024, it will charge a fee every time a Unity-built game is installed on an end user's device.
In its FAQs, Unity gave the example, a developer signed to Unity Pro (which would pay lower fees) and had reached one million downloads and $1 million in yearly revenue. If such a studio reached 300,000 installs in one month (100,000 of which from emerging markets, which also lowers the fee), that company would be charged $23,500.
"With one stroke of the pen, [Unity has] put hundreds of studios at risk, all without consultation or dialogue"
The move was met by immediate backlash, with complaints that studios can't control or predict monthly installs and fears that these fees could cripple companies.
Unity attempted to clarify its plans, emphasising that reinstalls on the same device, game demos, and charity bundles would be exempt, and that the thresholds mean the fees will affect an estimated 10% of
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