Unity backflips on controversial pricing model

Shock. Surprise.

Unity has backflipped on plans to introduce a controversial new pricing model onto developers that use its engine.

Today, Unity has said that most devs on the Unity Personal plan will no longer be subject to a planned Runtime Fee that would have charged a company for each install of its game. A revision to the model now means that Personal plan developers can earn up to $200,000 USD without changing to higher-tier plan. Unity will also waive the requirement to show the “Made with Unity” splash screen as a title is booted up.

Those on Pro and Enterprise plans won’t be subject to the Runtime Fee until they upgrade to the long-term support version of Unity Engine, which will become available in 2024. Games or projects built in engines before this time will not be subject to the new model.

“We will make sure that you can stay on the terms applicable for the version of Unity editor you are using — as long as you keep using that version,” Unity Create head Marc Whitten asserted.

“I want to start with simply this: I am sorry,” Whitten continued.

“We should have spoken with more of you and we should have incorporated more of your feedback before announcing our new Runtime Fee policy. Our goal with this policy is to ensure we can continue to support you today and tomorrow, and keep deeply investing in our game engine,” he said.

“You are what makes Unity great, and we know we need to listen, and work hard to earn your trust. We have heard your concerns, and we are making changes in the policy we announced to address them.”

You can learn more at this fee summary page.