The game engine company, Unity recently announced a change to its pricing model last week and faced severe backlash from developers. The new fee, known as the Runtime Fee will cost game developers a small fee every time an end user downloads a game or an app. This new pricing model will apply to game developers who will have crossed a certain number of installs or revenue.
In addition to the backlash, the company received ‘death threats’ resulting in the company deciding to close two of its offices in Texas and California. Unity has now issued an apology acknowledging the confusion and frustration among players and said that it will be “making changes” to the previously announced policy.
What did Unity say in its Apology?
The company took to X, formerly Twitter, and said it is aware of the confusion and concern that the developers have regarding the runtime fee policy. Unity added that it is talking to its members, the community, and partners and will make changes to its policy and while the company didn’t reveal what those changes could be, it said to share more details in the next few days.
Also Read: Unity Make Official Announcement Regarding Future Pricing Plans
Unity is one of the most used engines by developers alongside Epic Games‘ Unreal Engine and the game developers severely criticized the company’s decision to charge the fees. The developers did not hold back on showing their criticism and threatened the company to stop using its engine. The developers also criticized the company as the new policy will also apply to previously released games if they are being distributed after the new policy takes effect.
What is the Unity Runtime Fee Policy?
According to Unity, the Runtime fee will be charged based on certain downloads for a qualifying app or game. Whenever a user downloads an app, the Runtime will also be downloaded and only the game or app has crossed a certain revenue threshold in the last 12 months, or the app has crossed a certain number of installs.
Also Read: Two Unity Offices Closed Amid Death Threats
The Runtime fee will take effect on January 1, 2024, and will charge $0.20 per install for any game or app over 100,000 installations, it still wasn’t enough to clear things for developers as it was also seen to reflect on gaming subscription services like PlayStation Plus and Game Pass. The company tried to clarify that developers will not have to pay fees for re-installations, installs through botnets, and trial versions or charity-related installations.
The development community remained critical of this policy with developers behind Rust 2, Facepunch Studios saying that it will not be developing games on the engine anymore. Another developer, Massive Monster also stated that it will delete its game Cult of the Lamb if the policy goes into effect.
This apology could be a stepping stone towards the company rebuilding trust in its users. It remains to be seen what changes the company brings with the revised policy and hope that it addresses the concerns of the users who await further information from the company.
What are your thoughts about the Runtime Fee policy? Let us know in the comments!
Source: X
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