Unity announced a new pricing model around a week ago that faced tremendous backlash. Thankfully, the game engine maker has heard the outcry and revealed a new pricing plan that is drastically different from the original version to appease developers.
The previous plan introduced a retroactive per-install fee for games using the gaming engine. Many developers asked how Unity would keep track of the installations and if reinstalls count. The pricing scheme would have potentially made developers pay more to Unity than they would have earned from selling games.
In a new open letter, Unity executive Marc Whitten apologized to the gaming community for the previously announced pricing scheme. Whitten also outlined a revised plan that is a drastic departure from the controversial pay model that the company previously announced.
Here is an open letter to our community:
https://t.co/qadAWzdGkb— Unity (@unity) September 22, 2023
Unity isn’t going to charge the controversial Runtime Fee for games made using the Unity Personal or Plus plans. Only the Pro and Enterprise plans will be charged the install fee, potentially saving smaller developers from potentially hefty add-on costs. It has also increased he annual earning threshold of the free Unity Personal plan for developers from $100K to $200K, allowing more small studios to avail of the free subscription plan.
The controversial Runtime Fee won’t apply to games that use the current or older version of the Unity game engine. The fee will apply to games that will move from a previous version of the game engine to the new version released next year or a future version.
The Runtime Fee will apply to games that have earned over $1 million in the previous 12 months and saw over a million installs. The studio can opt for a 2.5% revenue share instead of the per-install fee and will always be billed the lower amount. Installs will now be self-reported rather than rely on Unity’s “proprietary data model.”
The new pricing model addresses the biggest complaints by developers regarding the fees. Studios will be spared from the retroactive fee as long as they keep their titles on the current or older versions of the gaming engine. However, it may be a problem for titles that receive long-term updates. The revenue-sharing model will also be welcome for studios that create free or cheap games.
How the new pricing model will be received by the gaming community remains to be seen. Many of the smaller indie studios have already lost trust in Unity after the announcement of the previous pricing model. It will take a significant effort from the game engine maker to win back the developers they have lost over the previous week.
