Unity Introduces New Runtime Fee allowing them to charge per installation beginning in 2024

[sounds]

Unity went public with their new pricing:

 

https://blog.unity.com/news/open-letter-on-runtime-fee

 

I wish the CEO would get fired. Small changes like what they're doing, isn't going to stop the bleeding

[Kisai]

11 minutes ago, sounds said:

Unity went public with their new pricing:

 

https://blog.unity.com/news/open-letter-on-runtime-fee

 

I wish the CEO would get fired. Small changes like what they're doing, isn't going to stop the bleeding

Yep just got the email, they aren't walking it back.

 

[Quackers101]

23 minutes ago, sounds said:

https://blog.unity.com/news/open-letter-on-runtime-fee

I wish the CEO would get fired. Small changes like what they're doing, isn't going to stop the bleeding

yeah with how much they wanted to go back and forth, it doesn't sound like a stable platform. they really shot themselves.

also for a short summary of link above

[Taf the Ghost]

As an aside, Unity turned down a 17 Billion USD buyout offer back in mid-2022. The stock was a little higher at the time, but still way, way down from its peak. That's likely why they didn't take the offer.

 

They should have.  Now we're here.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

honestly… this seems like what a lot of people really hated is gone.

no longer retroactive and theres a much clearer option on how to pay for sales

[thechinchinsong]

2 hours ago, Helpful Tech Witch said:

honestly… this seems like what a lot of people really hated is gone.

no longer retroactive and theres a much option on how to pay for sales

The changes now make it cost less than Unreal for an actual majority of cases now I imagine. However, there has probably already been some amount of permanent damage to Unity's reputation and which will lead to negative financial repercussions down the road. Some of these changes might not be seen for another 4-5 years with current devs-in-training (or studios-to-be) switching from Unity to another engine down the road alongside current devs/studios in the present. Again, this is now solely the non-financial aspects of this situation that make it bad for Unity now. Even if all the messages and updates from Unity are 100% genuine now, how can anyone believe that will still be the case a year or two down the road whenever shareholders decide more money must be made?

 

If Unity had done what they did in the last week in the month before the original announcement (and not mess with the TOS earlier in the year), can you imagine what a non-issue this would be? People would still be uncomfortable with the installs metric, but if everything else was acceptable, it probably would've been swept under the rug. Just wishful thinking since publicly traded companies almost always get sucked dry by investors having the foresight of a 2 year old.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

38 minutes ago, thechinchinsong said:

The changes now make it cost less than Unreal for an actual majority of cases now I imagine. However, there has probably already been some amount of permanent damage to Unity's reputation and which will lead to negative financial repercussions down the road. Some of these changes might not be seen for another 4-5 years with current devs-in-training (or studios-to-be) switching from Unity to another engine down the road alongside current devs/studios in the present. Again, this is now solely the non-financial aspects of this situation that make it bad for Unity now. Even if all the messages and updates from Unity are 100% genuine now, how can anyone believe that will still be the case a year or two down the road whenever shareholders decide more money must be made?

 

If Unity had done what they did in the last week in the month before the original announcement (and not mess with the TOS earlier in the year), can you imagine what a non-issue this would be? People would still be uncomfortable with the installs metric, but if everything else was acceptable, it probably would've been swept under the rug. Just wishful thinking since publicly traded companies almost always get sucked dry by investors having the foresight of a 2 year old.

honestly, no one wouldve complained with the final result. 

2.5% or 20c for every sale, starting with the next version of unity, seemes like it wouldve been fine, but they killed their image by doing shady shit.

[Dracarris]

IMHO interesting take on this whole matter from the Cherno with some insight into AAA studios and engine developers (he has worked at EA for quite some time).

What I think is the most important aspect: Unity has over 7000 employees and their sole product is a mobile game 2D engine, which is just plain nuts and the main reason they aren't profitable (not sure if it has already been brought up here).

 

[Quackers101]

14 hours ago, Helpful Tech Witch said:

honestly… this seems like what a lot of people really hated is gone.

no longer retroactive and theres a much clearer option on how to pay for sales

not really, as not all of these are set in stone, and they could do something shady again.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

1 hour ago, Quackers101 said:

not really, as not all of these are set in stone, and they could do something shady again.

“they didnt fix the thing because they could go back and do something that change it”

 

thats… not the point. they have fixed all the issues with original payment system, making it more clear and allowing a flat rate as an option. they have said this will go on with new versions, which was possibly the largest issue

 

plus, its been shown that people can get unity to change their minds, so if they try and pull shady shit again, the backlash would kill them again