Employees from Unity Technologies have been dealing with a lot of issues ever since the company’s controversial decision to charge developers a fee for every new download of games made using its game engine. The new plan was to come into effect on January 1, next year.
Calling it the Unity Runtime Fee, the company devised two thresholds, and the plan was to charge developers who had crossed either of the thresholds. Following the announcement, several developers, including the ones behind Among Us, made their frustrations clear, with many planning to switch engines.
It did not stop there either, as Unity started receiving death threats, following which the company decided to close its Texas and California offices.
Unity Closes Texas and California Offices Following Credible Death Threats
Unity CEO John Riccitiello had plans to address a town hall, which has now been cancelled, following death threats, and also moved to close its offices in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, California.
Also Read: Unity Make Official Announcement Regarding Future Pricing Plans
A statement posted on Bloomberg stated that the company was “made aware of a potential threat to some of our offices”. The statement further read that the company has “taken immediate and proactive measures to ensure the safety of our employees” and that it is “fully cooperating with law enforcement.”
The Unity Engine and Epic Games’ Unreal Engine are among the two most used engines by Indie game developers who use the ready-to-use engines to save time. Game developers haven’t taken the company’s decision lightly, as many have threatened to quit using the its engine and move to another alternative. Unity quickly jumped to clarify the concerns, which did little to prevent developers from trusting the company.
Several Indie Developers Furious with Unity
Developers behind hit Indie titles Cuphead and Among Us have been using the Unity Engine, as have most smaller studios as well. Xalavier Nelson Jr., a game designer, BAFTA-nominated studio head, and writer with dozens of titles, also voiced his opinion. He stated that it feels like being “stuck with a partner who may be actively working against your interest, and who you likely increasingly feel you cannot trust.”
The creator of Garry’s Mod and founder of Facepunch Studios, Garry Newman, also made his reactions clear about how he felt furious. Posting a statement on his website, Newman stated that “the cost isn’t a big issue,” but the situation “hurts because” the developer “didn’t agree to this.”
Newman continued that to use the engine, only one “up front” payment was required, after which the product was shipped, claiming that this update took place without any kind of warning or consultation.
Newman also went on to reveal an update on Rust 2, saying that it “definitely won’t be a Unity game.”
Also Read: Fans Point Out Unreal Engine Capabilities with Amazing Horror Game As Unity Fallout Continues
Makers of Among Us, Innersloth, also released an official statement about joining other developers who were planning to delay further updates and content while they port their game to another engine. The developer wrote that this situation “would harm not only us, but fellow game studios of all budgets and sizes.”
Innersloth concluded its statement with the fact that most other developers won’t have the luxury of time or the means of porting to a new engine midway through or years after developing using the company’s engine.
Do you think Unity will backtrack and listen to the developers? Let us know in the comments!
Source: Bloomberg
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