Company Unitywhich is behind one of the most popular video game engines, unveiled on Tuesday new pricing policy depending on the number of game installations using your technology. According to Unity, the new fees are necessary to finance the development of the engine, but the developers do not like the update and are actively criticizing it on social network X.
Game makers small and large are expressing concern. so that releasing a popular game doesn’t cost more money than they could make. Many highlight free games, Game Pass games, charity packs and demos. There are a lot of installations everywhere here, and if you had to pay for each of them, it is very unpleasant and cost-effective for many. Other creators threaten that they choose to shelve their project and switch to the much more profitable Unreal Engine from Epic Games..
They sound too concerns that small creators in particular are not removing their games from digital store offerings. They could be motivated to do this before the limits are exceeded. Larger developers, in turn, may be interested in removing their older games from stores.
What the creators consider very unfair is that The new policy should also apply to already released games.. But no one knows exactly how the Unity installation, etc. will be calculated.
Unity called the new policy the Unity Runtime Fee and initially introduced it as a fee for each download of the corresponding game by the end user. Fortunately, due to the massive negative reaction from the developers, an explanation came in the evening. Unity has backed off a bit, but it’s still very weird.
You will only be charged for the first installation on this device.. However, if a player installs a game on a PC and then later installs the same game on a Steam Deck, for example, they will be charged an additional fee. However, important details about installation detection and possible protection from disgruntled players who want to harm the studio are still missing.
At least we learned that there is no charge for installing demo versions of games, unless the demo is similar to a locked full game (trial). However, games in early access will be paid. Games for charitable purposes will be exempt from fees. Game Pass and other subscription services will be billed to distributors, so Microsoft will pay them for Game Pass.
Unity estimates that starting 01/01/2024, a flat installation fee will apply to 10% of developer studios. Flat fee based on Unity subscription plan, revenue, and number of game installs.. It will apply to games created with Unity Personal and Unity Plus that have grossed at least $200,000 in the previous 12 months and have at least 200,000 lifetime installs. This will also apply to games created with Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise. This is if the game has earned $1,000,000 or more in the previous 12 months and has at least 1,000,000 installs.
Developers using Unity Personal (free version) and Unity Plus will pay 20 cents for each first installation above this threshold. Developers with Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise will pay according to individual installation limits. From 1 to 100,000 installations – $0.125 for each first installation, from 100,001 to 500,000 installations – $0.06 for each first installation, from 500,001 to 1,000,000 – $0.02 for each first installation and above a million – $0.01 for each first installation.
Source :Indian TV
