Unity Technologies, the American video game software development organisation, introduced a new fee structure called the Unity Runtime Fee. This fee will be charged each time a qualified video game is downloaded by a consumer. This decision, however, received widespread criticism from the game developers.
The new Unity Runtime Fee is based on each download of a video game, which previously didn't result in any cost for the game's developer. With this new fee structure, the game developers would have to pay Unity $0.20 per installation if their game is downloaded more than 200,000 times and earns more than $200,000 in revenue. The new fee structure will go live on January 1, 2024.
This decision was heavily criticized by game developers. According to them, as per the new fee structure, if their game is downloaded in large numbers and even if it sees a sudden spike in downloads due to various sales offers, inclusion in charity bundles, and subscription packages, they have to pay a significant amount of money to Unity.
Game developers, especially independent developers, took to social media to voice their concerns. Some claimed that the decision was taken by Unity without consulting any game developers and that working with this company would be a financial risk. Others took a more direct approach by reaching out to the gaming community and urging them not to install a Unity game if they had bought it.
After the severe backlash, Unity quickly provided some clarifications about the new fee plan.
As per reports, initially, Unity stated that under the new fee structure, if a customer installs the game, deletes it, and then installs it again, it will result in multiple fees. However, they have decided to overturn this decision and just charge the fee during the initial installation. Additionally, the Runtime Fee will not be charged if a demo version of the game is installed, unless that demo is part of a package that comprises the entire game. Video games that are provided through charity will not be charged as well.
Reports state that Unity believes only 10% of the game developers will end up paying the fee due to the high game download threshold of the plan. They also believe that with this plan, they are trying to ensure that there is a good value exchange so that they are able to provide game developers with the best and most appropriate tools to develop video games.
Meta Intro: Unity Technologies, the American video game software development company, has announced a new fee structure called the Unity Runtime Fee. This fee is based on each time a qualified game is downloaded by the customer. However, this decision received a significant backlash from game developers, some of whom took to social media to urge gamers not to install a Unity game if they bought it.