Whether it was Fall Guys, Cities: Skylines, or the uber-difficult Cuphead, odds are you’ve probably played or at least dipped your toes into a game that uses the Unity engine at some point.
Given just how many titles use the company’s software, it’s not that surprising that when it recently announced plans to begin charging developers and studios for each time someone downloads a game built using the Unity engine, the reaction wasn’t positive.
After some developers went as far as suggesting they might delete their games from storefronts, Unity attempted to clarify what the planned changes would mean. Last week, the company had to close its offices in San Francisco and Austin due to what it called a credible death threat. Now, it has apologised and said it will be making some changes to its plans.
What have you thought of the Unity Runtime Fee controversy?
In a tweet, Unity has issued an official apology and suggested that revisions to the planned Runtime Fee policy, which is currently set to arrive in 2024, are in the works.
“We have heard you,” reads the company’s statement, continuing:
We apologise for the confusion and angst the runtime fee policy we announced on Tuesday caused. We are listening, talking to our team members, community, customers, and partners, and will be making changes to the policy. We will share an update in a couple of days. Thank you for your honest and critical feedback.
Several developers have already responded to this update from Unity, outlining what they hope to see from the “changes” referenced in the statement.
“Please, either a total revert, or a standard revenue share. Forget about any other kind of convoluted scheme," said Tim Soret, founder of independent studio Odd Tales wrote in a reply.
He added: “Also, respect the TOS of each version, and don't try ever again any shady [manoeuvre] to conceal changes. Just be honest, upfront, reliable. We need stability. Thank you.”
Meanwhile, developer Rami Ismail tweeted: “It's terrifying to think Unity leadership dragged this [out] over the weekend, leaving every studio out there with genuine existential concerns, and even now cannot simply [say] ‘our intent is to drop the per-install fee’. We have to be worried longer [and] we have to keep talking about this.”
Make sure to follow us for more updates on Unity’s planned fee changes and coverage of some of the games the plans could potentially affect.