Unity apologized for the “confusion and concern caused by the installation time charging policy ” it announced last week and said it will make changes to it. Details of these changes will be announced in the coming days .
Unity announced via Twitter/Xthat it has reached out to multiple internal and external partners and plans to review its controversial policy . While it did not reveal details about the changes that may be made, it promised that further information would be forthcoming.
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“We heard your concerns”, said Unity. “We apologize for the confusion and anxiety caused by the installation time charging policy we announced on Tuesday. We are listening, talking with team members, the community, customers and partners and will make changes to the policy. We will announce updates in a few days. Thank you for your sincere comments.”
Unity’s runtime charging policy is expected to go into effect on January 1, 2024, and will include a $0.20 per install for any game with more than 200,000 installs. This raises questions as the concept of “install” is difficult to clearly describe in this day and age. For example, will developers be charged for multiple installs, including uninstalling and reinstalling their games? While the consumer is not charged after the monthly fee, will Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus?
Unity sought to clarify its policy, saying it would only consider “clean new installs” on any device starting January 1, excluding reinstalls, botnet and the like, trial versions, streaming websites and games, and installs related to charitable causes. Unity also stressed that this change will not affect 90% of its customers.
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The proposed revision and clarification was met with a lack of civility from the development community, sparking backlash from many teams worldwide. Developers at Facepunch Studios, including those working on Rust 2, have stated that they no longer intend to use Unity to develop their games. Some teams, such as Massive Monster, have threatened to pull their Unity-powered game Cult of the Lamb from the market on January 1st if the required changes are not made.
The threat was so persuasive that it forced Unity's offices in San Francisco and Austin to shut down.
We will certainly continue to follow this story closely and share any new details that Unity releases. Until then, however, it is important to carefully consider why these new facilities are causing massive backlash among game and the Unity gaming community. These changes are controversial and could significantly impact the industry.
Source: ign.com
