Effective January 1, 2024, we will introduce a new Unity Runtime Fee that’s based on game installs.
We are introducing a Unity Runtime Fee that is based upon each time a qualifying game is downloaded by an end user. We chose this because each time a game is downloaded, the Unity Runtime is also installed.
Games qualify for the Unity Runtime Fee after two criteria have been met: 1) the game has passed a minimum revenue threshold in the last 12 months, and 2) the game has passed a minimum lifetime install count.
Unity Personal and Unity Plus: Those that have made $200,000 USD or more in the last 12 months AND have at least 200,000 lifetime game installs.
Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise: Those that have made $1,000,000 USD or more in the last 12 months AND have at least 1,000,000 lifetime game installs.
This means that if you have made more than $200K in the last 12 months and have lifetime installs of over 200K, you’ll have to pay per game install. It won’t affect most people but this sounds outrageous. It’s a good time to be a Godot enthusiast. Unity really is insanely desperate these days.
Are they not gonna backtrack this? People can install a million times your game without spending a dime
I think they mean unique installs, per purchase
They clarified otherwise, since they are using their own tool for this
Nah it’s per install, not unique.
What are your thoughts on this?
I am being really concerned. I am not affected by this nor will be for the near future, BUT. For the past 5 years I’ve been studying with Unity, planning to work on it professionally. With some earlier decisions and now with this… I don’t know… This made me seriously consider that this is not a serious or ethical company and I just can’t base my career on this instability. I’m starting to research Godot. I know of Unreal’s popularity but I read Godot is open source so…
I really hope to read others’ thoughts on this.
There are a lot of thoughts floating on the internet and while this won’t kill Unity since it won’t affect people making under $200k, it does signify that Unity is a sinking ship. They’ve already been on a silent decline as Unreal has become the best choice for 3D while Unity stagnated, and other engines like Godot are quickly catching up.
I did write a blog post on transitioning from Unity to Godot: https://popcar.bearblog.dev/unity-to-godot-what-to-expect/
Thanks, that was somewhat comforting! I find the “cheapness” of everything quite appealing, and of course the transition from C# hugely intimidating!! But overall your post gave me hope as to what to expect, despite the obstacles. I’ll start my first project this week, since the installation is quite light.
