Subj : Game developers express concerns over trust following amended Uni
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Mon Sep 25 2023 10:45:04

Game developers express concerns over trust following amended Unity Runtime 
Fee

Date:
Mon, 25 Sep 2023 09:25:26 +0000

Description:
The newly announced changes to Unity's controversial Runtime Fee won't fix 
developers' trust in the engine, users say.

FULL STORY
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On Friday (September 22), game engine Unity announced that it was making 
changes to its controversial upcoming Runtime Fee , and developers have been 
sharing their thoughts on the amended policy. 

The original policy , which was announced on September 12, stated that all 
developers whose games hit certain thresholds (based on their lifetime 
installs and revenue) would be subject to a monthly fee calculated using the 
number of additional installs theyd accumulated. However, the revised version 
of the policy has changed things so that Unity Personal and Unity Plus users 
will be totally exempt from the fee. 

Additionally, the Runtime Fee will only apply to games created using the next 
Long Term Support (LTS) service releasing in 2024, meaning that games that 
have already been released will be unaffected by these changes unless theyre 
upgraded (the same goes for projects currently in the works, too). The fee 
itself can be paid via a 2.5% revenue share or a calculated amount based on 
unique initial engagements, and users will stay on the terms outlined on the 
version of Unity theyre currently using, for as long as they continue using 
it. 

Some developers have reacted positively to these changes: The new fees seem 
reasonable and well thought out, at least from my perspective, Stellar 
Conquest developer Shaun Tonstad tweeted . Of course, I cant speak for others 
who might have different licensing expectations. Nice pivot, Unity. Now youll 
need to address [Terms of Service] changes to rebuild that trust. 

Trust has been a recurring theme in many developers responses: This has the 
important element I wanted, which is that Gloomwood wont be affected by the 
new fees as its on a previous Unity version. However, nothing they could have 
written would repair the damage to my trust, Gloomwood developer Dillon 
Rogers wrote . 

[From] what I read, the new policy seems more reasonable. No retroactivity, 
and other details I encourage you to read. However, trust is broken. It will 
be a long-term operation to earn it again. Proud of the dev community, 
everyone, also people inside Unity, [who] voiced their concerns! Devteam Life 
responded . 

The Unity Runtime Fee is set to come into effect next year. 

 Be sure to check out our recommendations for the best indie games , as well 
as the best PC games .



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/gaming/game-developers-express-concerns-over-trust-f
ollowing-amended-unity-runtime-fee


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