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

gadgets.ndtv.com:

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 download 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 users. Today, a large majority of Unity Editor users 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 download, 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 accounts 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 downloaded, the Unity Runtime is also installed. Also, we believe that an initial install-based fee