Unity, the company behind the popular game engine of the same name, has officially canceled its runtime fee — a controversial move introduced last year that outraged game developers.
In a Unity website blog post, CEO Matt Bromberg said the company will be reverting back to its subscription model immediately after its new Unity Runtime Fee, which charged developers who met certain thresholds extra per user install, went over like a lead balloon when it was introduced last year. Not only was it confusing enough that the company had to make multiple clarifications, but users revolted. Some developers, like Innersloth, Aggro Crab, and Red Hook Studios, released statements condemning the move.
Unity will be moving back to a classic subscription model with a couple of changes to the tiers. The Unity Personal tier, which is free, will have a higher revenue ceiling: from $100,000 to $200,000. It’ll also only implement changes once a year instead of surprising developers like it did last year with the runtime fee. Here’s a quick rundown.
- Unity Personal: Will remain free; the revenue and funding ceiling will be doubled from $100,000 to $200,000. The Made with Unity splash screen will become optional for Unity Personal games made with Unity 6.
- Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise: Changes for all new and existing users effective on January 1, 2025
- Unity Pro: 8% subscription price increase to $2,200 annually per seat. Unity Pro will be required for users who reach the $200,000 ceiling.
- Unity Enterprise: 25% subscription increase. Will be required for users with more than $25 million of total annual revenue and funding. Unity will be contacting these customers to discuss customized packages.
In an exclusive interview with Game Developer, Bromberg said the move was part of a plan to “become a fundamentally different company” after years of raising prices, laying off workers, and making controversial decisions like the runtime fee. Bromberg says he spoke with customers and developers on the issue and how Unity could raise prices without turning its back on other people.
“I’ve heard time and time again that you want a strong Unity, and understand that price increases are a necessary part of what enables us to invest in moving gaming forward. But those increases needn’t come in a novel and controversial new form,” he says in the blog.
Initially, the runtime fee would charge developers up to $0.20 per user install after it released $200,000 within 12 months — but it didn’t properly explain what an “install” meant. The extra fee would have little impact on larger games on the Enterprise plan, but indie developers on the lower-tier plans could suffer. Later, the company clarified that the fee would take downloads on subscription services like Xbox Game Pass and charity bundles into account.
It eventually backtracked slightly on the Unity Personal inclusion, only applying the runtime fee to games not made on the Personal tier or that made less than $1 million in 12 months. That didn’t stop developers from moving to other engines, like Unreal or Godot.
