Unity CEO addresses decision to cancel controversial runtime fee

gamesindustry.biz:

Unity CEO Matthew Bromberg has addressed the runtime fee controversy and why it took the firm a year to reverse its decision.

Speaking at GamesBeat Next 2024 in October, Bromberg said tackling the runtime fee was his first priority after being appointed CEO in May.

"The first thing I did was get on a plane and start flying around the world to ask folks [...] how they were connecting with us," Bromberg explained. "How, in particular, did the runtime fee strike them? What did they think was the best way for us to fix it?

"They told me again and again, all over the world, that folks valued Unity as a partner, but they didn't like the way we were connecting with them. They didn't like the fact we hadn't consulted with them; they didn't like the way we were planning to charge them."

This reaction resulted in Unity entering a deep consultation period with its partners, customers, and developers.

"Many people were surprised how long it took us to announce the reversion of the runtime fee back to a more traditional subscription model, but how we did it was as important to me, if not more so, than what we were going to do," he added.

"Making sure that everybody knew in advance, that there were no surprises, that we fully grasped all the issues – that was a very important piece. It's not just about the runtime fee, which is just one decision. It's our intention to make all these decisions about the company in that same way."

The runtime fee was introduced last September, which would have seen Unity impose a fee on every install of a Unity game after reaching particular revenue and installation thresholds.

Following immediate backlash, the runtime fee was removed for personal users later that month. The fee was cancelled altogether in September 2024.