John Paul M. Joaquin Tech 09.18.2023 00:Sep AM EDT

Unity To Make Changes to Its Install Fee Policy

Unity has backed down from implementing its new, controversial policy.

The game engine developer recently announced it is making changes to its new runtime fee policy that has the gaming community and industry up in arms against it.

Unity previously announced its future implementation of its new runtime fee policy on Sept. 12, which requires game developers to pay the company a fee whenever a gamer installs one of their Unity-based games.

Unity's Descent

Unity mentioned in its X.com post it apologizes for "the confusion and angst" the gaming industry and community felt when it announced its runtime fee policy. To address their concerns, Unity stated it is listening and talking to its team members, community, customers, and partners to make changes to its new policy.

While it is unclear what these changes will be (or if Unity will abolish the policy entirely), the company did say it will share an update about the changes it will make "in a couple of days." "We have heard you," Unity said in its post.

Unity's latest statement follows its earlier one that aimed to clarify the mechanics of its runtime fee policy, with the company stating that only 10% of its customers will be affected by it. These customers are "those who have found a substantial scale in downloads and revenue and have reached [the policy's install and revenue thresholds."

(Photo : Unity Enterprise)

However, it seems that the clarification didn't inspire the confidence Unity hoped for - its apology is being received more warmly by some gamers and developers, as the comments under it show. Understandably, doubters are saying that Unity's apology is disingenuous and that the company's situation (and reputation) will get worse over time.

Whether these doubters are speaking the truth or if Unity will make significant changes to its runtime fee policy (for the better) remains to be seen.

Community & Industry Against Unity

Nevertheless, game developers are unimpressed and frustrated with Unity's new policy. Many of them are delaying (or stopping) the development of their upcoming Unity-based games, porting those that are to other game engines, or outright pulling them from online stores.

For instance, Among Us and Cult of the Lamb, which are both Unity-based games, are at risk of being pulled from online gaming stores, per IGN. Additionally, game studios like Rust 2 developer Facepunch Studios announced it won't use the Unity Engine to make their games anymore.

Facepunch Studios isn't the only game studio to make such an announcement. No Brakes Games and Mega-Crit, the developers of Human Fall Flat and Slay the Spire, also announced it had lost trust in Unity after its runtime fee policy announcement.

Meanwhile, the backlash against Unity's runtime fee policy reached a point that the company's offices in San Francisco and Austin had to close on Sept. 15 and 16 due to what it called a credible death threat, per Polygon.