Unity apologizes to devs, reveals updated Runtime Fee policy

It's better but I still wouldn't trust them. I will not be using Unity for any future projects.

No one should base their lively hood in game development through Unity with the poison that fills the C-Suites. Hopefully this is a big enough push to get GODOT to close the gap in marketshare.

I'd been using Unity off-and-on for more than a decade, even published two crappy mobile games back in the day

this recent kerfuffle led me to find Godot and I actually quite enjoy it. so even if Unity did a full reversal I can't see myself ever going back to it

I had no idea their CEO was from EA, so in a way I'm glad all this happened as I learned quite a bit

Link to the official post: https://blog.unity.com/news/open-letter-on-runtime-fee

It still doesn't return the broken trust or conformation that the people running Unity are insane, but this is a good move and devs don't need to alarmingly port their current projects to other engines.

I want to start with this: I am sorry.

Translation: damn, we really didn't get away with this.

The Runtime Fee policy will only apply beginning with the next LTS version of Unity shipping in 2024 and beyond.

We will make sure that you can stay on the terms applicable for the version of Unity editor you are using

Good. This is how it should've been from the start. If they bake that into the license I think people will be comfortable staying on Unity for the time being.

For games that are subject to the runtime fee, we are giving you a choice of either a 2.5% revenue share or the calculated amount based on the number of new people engaging with your game each month. Both of these numbers are self-reported from data you already have available. You will always be billed the lesser amount.

Also good. It should've been revshare from the start. I still don't understand how they would trust self-reported numbers but we'll see.

These are good changes. The damage isn't undone but at least current Unity devs won't be thrown under the bus.

Our Unity Personal plan will remain free and there will be no Runtime Fee for games built on Unity Personal. We will be increasing the cap from $100,000 to $200,000 and we will remove the requirement to use the Made with Unity splash screen. No game with less than $1 million in trailing 12-month revenue will be subject to the fee.

Looks like a desperate attempt to get the free people to stay, as it makes them more likely to spend on the unity store. Hell, they're even willing to remove the splash screen from the free tier.

For games that are subject to the runtime fee, we are giving you a choice of either a 2.5% revenue share or the calculated amount based on the number of new people engaging with your game each month. Both of these numbers are self-reported from data you already have available. You will always be billed the lesser amount.

Hm, I wonder if they'll just believe whatever the devs report, or if they'll just bide their time before throwing the lawyers at them for "underreporting numbers"

People pay for your software and do all the hard work. Why the fuck Unity want "revenue share"? You already got paid.

This makes me feel a little better, but I'm still interested in switching to Stride. But my Unity project kinda relies on Final IK, and I haven't found an alternative yet.

Not quite sure what I'll do. I'll keep playing with Stride or maybe other things for the time being I guess.

Updated the link to link to the official unity post

Heres what I had originally posted: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/unity-apologizes-to-devs-reveals-updated-runtime-fee-policy