Unity seeks to clarify Runtime Fee after days of "confusion and frustration"

gamedeveloper.com:

Engine maker Unity has acknowledged (but not apologized for) the "confusion and frustration" caused by the announcement of its new runtime fee policy and has attempted to address some of the development community's top questions and concerns.

In a statement posted to X, which comes two days after the company unveiled a new fee that will see creators charged per install after certain thresholds have been met, Unity sought to offer developers a salve in the form of a quick-fire FAQ.

The company began by reiterating the runtime fee "is very targeted" and will affect less than 10 percent of its customers. "Customers who will be impacted are generally those who have found a substantial scale in downloads and revenue and have reached both our install and revenue thresholds. This means a low (or no) fee for creators who have not found scale success yet and a modest one-time fee for those who have," reads the statement.

It added that runtime fees will only be levied against "new installs," emphasizing that it has now backtracked on its previous position of charging developers each time a person deleted and reinstalled a title–even on the same device.

Notably, the company added that developers are not responsible for paying a runtime fee on fraudulent install charges; trials, partial play demos, and automation installs; charity-related installs; and web and streaming games. As for how Unity will ensure developers aren't charged for those fraudulent installs,  the company said it will "work directly" with creators on cases where fraud or botnets are suspected of malicious intent.

In a more robust FAQ on the Unity website, the company provided additional information relevant to developers. For starters, it explained it will leverage