Game engine maker Unity recently revised its extremely controversial plan to charge devs a fee based on the number of runtime installs.
Marc Whitten, head of the Unity Create group, issued an open letter apologizing to the greater community that has relied on the engine for so long. Many of the world’s most popular games, including Hearthstone, Pokémon GO, and more were created with Unity.
Of course, the goal was financial, as Whitten said the runtime fee was introduced “to ensure we can continue to support you today and tomorrow, and keep deeply investing in our game engine.”
As of now, the version of Unity that developers decide to use and release titles on matters.
The FAQ on Unity’s website goes into specific detail:
The Runtime Fee does not apply to any games created with any currently supported Unity versions including 2022 LTS, 2021 LTS, 2020 LTS, or any earlier versions. The 2022 LTS is our latest supported version. The Runtime Fee only applies to games created with or upgraded to the Long Term Support (LTS) version of Unity releasing in 2024, currently referred to as the 2023 LTS, and any future associated betas, Tech Streams, or LTS releases.
The fee will only apply if ALL of the following criteria are met:
Your game is made using a Unity Pro or Unity Enterprise plan.
Your game is created or will be upgraded to the next major Unity version releasing in 2024.
Your game meets BOTH thresholds of $1,000,000 (USD) gross revenue on a trailing 12 month basis AND 1,000,000 lifetime initial engagements.
Older software remains under the original terms and conditions written for respective versions.