Discussion

• @jasonschreier Jason Schreier on x

  BREAKING: Unity canceled a town hall this morning and closed two offices due to what CEO John Riccitiello said was a credible death threat, according to people familiar. This comes in the wake of a controversial price hike from the video game tech maker https://www.bloomberg.com/…

• @jasonschreier Jason Schreier on x

  I can't confirm that there actually were death threats (only that Unity closed their offices), but if you're skeptical, please note that Gamers have sent me death threats for 1) reporting on video game delays, 2) criticizing video games they like, and much much more

• @maxkriegervg @maxkriegervg on x

  please god let apple buy them due to their commitment to unity with vision pro and let all of this shit end

• @discord @discord on x

  starting tomorrow you can only send one discord message per day

• @joshnaylor Josh Naylor on x

  Do not target public facing Unity staff, especially those trying to help and be as open as possible. They did not make or probably even know about the decision until it was too late. They do not deserve personal attacks.

• @disappoptimism @disappoptimism on x

  This whole Unity thing will be the biggest shitshow in the history of video gaming. Genuinely, it's gonna be massive.

• r/gaming r on reddit

  Unity cancels town hall over reported death threats

• r/gamedev r on reddit

  Unity temporarily closes offices amid death threats following contentious pricing changes

• r/Unity3D r on reddit

  Unity temporarily closes offices amid death threats following contentious pricing changes

• @freyaholmer @freyaholmer on x

  I saw someone theorize that whoever made this decision at Unity is so mobile pilled that to them “an install” is unambiguously just a number from google play or the apple app store I hate how it's so painfully believable

• r/programming r on reddit

  Unity is offering a Runtime Fee waiver if you switch to LevelPlay

• r/gachagaming r on reddit

  Unity will quietly waive controversial fees if developers switch to its ad monetisation service - report

• r/TwoBestFriendsPlay r on reddit

  Oh it makes sense now.  Turns out Unity new install tax is a way to strong arm developers into using its ad platform

• r/gaming r on reddit

  Unity will quietly waive controversial fees if developers switch to its ad monetisation service - report

• r/gamedev r on reddit

  Unity will quietly waive controversial fees if developers switch to its ad monetisation service - report

• @unity @unity on x

  We want to acknowledge the confusion and frustration we heard after we announced our new runtime fee policy. We'd like to clarify some of your top questions and concerns: Who is impacted by this price increase: The price increase is very targeted. In fact, more than 90% of our...

• @megacrit @megacrit on x

  👋 @unity [image]

• @geoffkeighley Geoff Keighley on x

  @unity What a joke.

• @tha_rami Rami Ismail on x

  As of right now I have over 50 studios that have reached out to ask for advice on how to switch away from Unity, and I am not counting one-person teams or student projects. Absolutely staggering scale. Never seen anything like it.

• @paultassi Paul Tassi on x

  it is somewhat disquieting that Unity appeared to make a universally derided, unprecedented change to their entire business model that all their customers hate and their stock drops...2.6% [image]

• @cremagames Crema on x

  So long, and thanks for all the fish @unity [image]

• @teamjunkfish @teamjunkfish on x

  Our response to the Unity news #UnityEngine [image]

• @dotemu @dotemu on x

  Unity's decision would be harmful to the diversity of the indie scene. Projects using Unity now face sudden financial risk that may lead to amazing projects getting canceled or studios closing.

• @indiegamerchick @indiegamerchick on x

  So many of my friends, people I've known for decades, are sweating Unity's new model. It's fine if you're a major publisher with deep pockets. For smaller studios, it's many steps removed from sustainable. This is their futures. It's created such anxiety & uncertainty. Not cool😶

• @mikerugnetta Mike Rugnetta on x

  I would love to know what Unity *thought* was gonna happen

• @dark1x John Linneman on x

  This is another aspect of Unity's folly - their proposed system (which may not actually exist yet) would theoretically require an internet connection rendering offline versions of games no longer possible. Unacceptable. That hurts consumers as well as devs.

• @grummz @grummz on x

  Unity's install tracking is likely to be highly invasive, bordering on malware, to track this much data. Even then, there is no way that false flags won't get through. Developers will have to argue each and every miss-flagged download to not get charged. This is evil.

• @nitrome @nitrome on x

  @unity Stop this nonsense! [image]

• @gamemakerengine @gamemakerengine on x

  You know what! Free exports for 3 months in case you are leaving Unity. We've got some links to help you make the jump

• @humblegrove @humblegrove on x

  Here's our statement about what's happened with Unity recently: [image]

• @completionist @completionist on x

  My favorite part of the direct was when the CEO of Unity sold his shares in Unity before announcing a brand new way to screw over thousands and thousands of Game Devs and their companies. Really exciting stuff. #blessed #thirstythursday #influncer #lifeisbae #PayGameDevs

• @andytouch Andy Touch on x

  I'm not a lawyer but im fairly sure this is illegal? There are going to be alot of lawsuits lined up against @unity. https://www.reddit.com/...

• @jakob_wahlberg Jakob Wahlberg on x

  Very, very interesting. https://www.reddit.com/... “Unity removes Github repo to track license changes, then updates their license to remove the clause that lets you use the TOS from the version you shipped with, then insists games already shipped need to pay the new fees”

• @izumi_niche Izumi on x

  Almost every Nintendo Mobile game is made Unity, with the exception being Fire Emblem Heroes using a open-source engine No matter what that cursed game will never die

• @aggrocrabgames @aggrocrabgames on x

  Just had a long call with Unity reps. They gave us some answers that they say will be public soon. We didn't come away with renewed trust in Unity or this policy, which we still think is total ass, but allegedly, real answers to a lot of speculation/misinfo are on the way. (1/2)

• @merrykish @merrykish on x

  You will see many more of these. Unity signed its own death certificate.

• @konjak Joakim ‘konjak’ Sandberg on x

  I love the “it won't affect 90% of you” response from Unity because it's secretly a “most of you fail anyway” statement. Most devs would love to sell 200k and they probably intend to

• @papapishu @papapishu on x

  The last 24 hours of unity stuff has been me saying “now I'm not a lawyer but that sure does feel lowkey illegal-coded” https://www.reddit.com/...

• @georgebsocial George Broussard on x

  My conspiracy theory is that Unity are proposing this batshit insane install based fee so they eventually fall back to “ok guys, we'll just do a royalty”. And everyone welcomes that, whereas if they started with a royalty there would still be open revolt!

• @kommanderkarl Kommander Karl on x

  I have uninstalled Unity & I strongly urge others to do the same. For those who've recently started a project, it would be wise to consider alternatives such as Unreal or Godot. Unity, this is a big slap in the face to everyone who has invested immeasurable time and effort... [im…

• @oysterfake Jessica Harvey on x

  unity leadership is not fit for purpose by any definition. embarrassing [image]

• @tafferking451 Dillon Rogers on x

  The reason why an install fee feels like a retroactive change over a revenue share is because with a revshare, the only money they can claim is what I make after January 1st, 2024. With install, if someone bought Gloomwood a year ago and installs it later, Unity claims the fee.

• @zenofdesign Damion Schubert on x

  Every team that built a free-to-play game built in Unity that passed 200K downloads a long time ago but is no longer a big revenue driver is going to have to make a decision on whether or not to delist their game and/or take down the servers entirely. [image]

• @ricardojuchem Ricardo Juchem on x

  This is shady... “Unity silently removed their Github repo to track license changes, then updated their license to remove the clause that lets you use the TOS from the version you shipped with, then insists games already shipped need to pay the new fees.” https://www.reddit.com/.…

• @daveoshry @daveoshry on x

  The fact that Unity didn't even really consider the effect this would have on premium games made with their engine because it's PENNIES compared to mobile and F2P revenue says a lot about how people view games at the corporate level.

• @cmuratori Casey Muratori on x

  For studios looking to leave Unity, I put together a list of alternative engines. If you have experience with any of them, please leave a (respectful!) evaluation in the comment section to help other devs know what's out there: https://www.computerenhance.com/ ...

• @kriswolfheart @kriswolfheart on x

  I don't think Unity fully grasped how severely poorly “we are going to attempt to amend the contract you signed after you signed it” plays to literally everyone who has ever lived

• @falconeerdev @falconeerdev on x

  How about refunds @unity easily double digit percentage of installs. ? Are we paying for those as well? How about preservation, putting your game for free in the public domain , now a liability ? How about free days/weekends that see massive installs ? How about I bundle my...

• @razzadoop Barry Kramer on x

  My respect for Unity's social media team: 100% My ire isn't directed at them. I'm not confused. I've read everything Unity has publicly stated in the past 24 hours. Framing it as “confusion” downplays the fact that no, I fully understand what Unity plans to do and I'm not a fan.

• @wickedinsignia @wickedinsignia on x

  Initially thought this was a misreading of the new fee terms but no, under the terms as they exist right now this studio would be paying Unity more than they earn.

• @nintendrew_ @nintendrew_ on x

  I have used Unity for over 10 years. I have published a game on all current Gen platforms using this engine. I was working on a new game with two senior visual effects artists that have worked with Lucasfilm. Nevermind. I'm learning @UnrealEngine.

• @dominictarason Dominic Tarason on x

  So, a little bird at Unity (not revealing my source for OBVIOUS reasons) suggests that if developers want to get the execs to pay more attention, it might be worth loudly boycotting or seeking refunds for the upcoming Unite conference scheduled for November. Spread the word.

• @dylancuthbert @dylancuthbert on x

  The executives at Unity combined earn more salary and bonuses in one year than Q-Games has earned in an illustrious 22 years, during which we built 3-4 custom engines from scratch, and they want more money from us!!? https://www1.salary.com/...

• @theswweet @theswweet on x

  The “Silksong is delayed another 5 years to get ported off of Unity” tweet being liked by a programmer at Team Cherry hit me like I just got shot

• @tomwarren Tom Warren on x

  someone has edited the Wikipedia entry for greed to describe Unity CEO John Riccitiello as “one of the greediest people alive” [image]

• @tafferking451 Dillon Rogers on x

  Again, placing a lot of administration work on developers to know when a pirated copy is activated. [image]

• @kerissakti Kris Antoni on x

  They've changed the policy Yet, how can we trust Unity to differentiate which installs should be counted and which is not to a black-box system controlled by Unity, the party who's financially interested? I don't want to waste time disputing false positives. Trust is lost

• @agrumpyfox @agrumpyfox on x

  A message to @unity and the Lunistice community [image]

• @dark1x John Linneman on x

  I really hate how this boneheaded decision by Unity is impacting so many smaller developers. Even if they walk it back, though, can they regain trust? Would you trust them with your future?

• @theactman_yt @theactman_yt on x

  “Why are we screwing over everyone who makes games using the Unity engine? Why? Because FUCK YOU! GIVE ME MONEY!”

• @emiliana_vt @emiliana_vt on x

  For anyone worried about whether the Unity Runtime Fee will affect #VSeeFace: It only has to be paid for Unity programs that have earnings higher than $200,000 in 12 months. VSeeFace has lifetime earnings of $0, so it's completely safe and unaffected. [image]

• @tighesammy @tighesammy on x

  He only needed 3 words [image]

• @repiteo Thaddeus Crews on x

  THEY MADE THIS AN AD LMAO [image]

• @duskdev David Szymanski on x

  This clarifies nothing. Until Unity can give an airtight rundown of how EXACTLY they plan on counting installs, combating fraud, etc, it means less than nothing to go “trust us bro, it ain't like that” Not from the company that just got caught secretly changing their TOS

• @tianipixel @tianipixel on x

  Don't let Unity trick you with “90% of users won't be affected” Basically every indie studio that most gamers know about are in the 10% Unity has a lot of usage by hobbyists and students that aren't currently releasing games, so this data doesn't matter and is very misleading

• @ordinarygamers @ordinarygamers on x

  Nah this is still fucking nonsense, how do you calculate “re-installs”. What if someone changes a component or reinstalls their OS? As someone playing the game do I even get to choose if Unity scrapes data of my system or not? Is that even legal in places with strict data laws?

• @polymarsyt PolyMars on x

  here's the translation [image]

• @gamemakerengine @gamemakerengine on x

  [image]

• @ckunzelman @ckunzelman on x

  The divide between the public understanding of Unity as a product and Unity's own understanding of itself as a product is so wide, so vast, that I think it's a mistake to invest time into it as a toolset going forward.

• @tha_rami Rami Ismail on x

  I'm afraid this changes exactly nothing to the four points I mentioned yesterday. It remains an enormous uncertainty for developers, a retro-active adjustment to terms, an absurd amount of extra tracking, a technical impossibility, & the only business model that can bankrupt you.

• @smashynick Nick Kaman on x

  i really dont think they have the ability to distinguish between gamepass installs and sales. so itll be my word against theirs every time until I can pull up with the data from firstparty. fun!

• @smashynick Nick Kaman on x

  Like “we obviously don't want these fees to financially ruin a studio” (paraphrasing) “so just reach out and we can figure out a plan for your needs” I do not look forward to the guardrails on this thing being a Unity rep that I have to get in a back and forth with every month

• @smashynick Nick Kaman on x

  Just got off a call w/ Unity. The reps were nice folks but ultimately didn't say anything that gives us confidence that this company is to be trusted A lot of their answers boiled down to “you can work with your acct manager to iron things out!” man I just want a clear policy 🙃

• @mode7games Paul Kilduff-Taylor on x

  this is why the feedback needs to be unilaterally “rescind the policy - establish a new clear policy and commit to it” - don't get bogged down in tactical stuff about installs etc. demand that it's gone and demonstrate that trust won't be rebuilt until that happens

• @cabel @cabel on x

  @stephentotilo “Devs not on the hook for Game Pass” means that they expect Microsoft to be on the hook for it, right? How does that affect deals?

• @paultassi Paul Tassi on x

  TLDR: we want Genshin Impact to pay us a billion dollars

• @mikedrucker Mike Drucker on x

  Congrats to Unity on following the Dungeons & Dragons business team strategy of proudly making things worse until they inevitably have to reverse course entirely with an e-mail beginning with the phrase, “We hear you”

• @georgebsocial George Broussard on x

  The Unity board needs to call for resignations. Start with John Riccitiello and most of the exec team responsible for the design and communication of this atrocious idea. They are destroying Unity. Act swiftly. Only with heads on a spike will some semblance of trust be restored..…

• @campster Chris Franklin on x

  Unity doubling down as if people didn't understand their plan while continuing to avoid answering specific and critical details is an absolute statement of contempt for anyone using their tools.

• @docsquiddy Doc on x

  hey, the only way to actually deal with this right now is: 1) “we messed up. the entire board has resigned over this to regain your trust. the plan specifically was championed by [named individuals.]” 2) “we are not implementing any of this” 3) “we are copying unreal pricing”

• @chrisdeleon @chrisdeleon on x

  ah interesting so upon closer inspection it seems like Unity has maybe actually chosen to extort money from... Apple let's see Unity's market cap is $15 billion, Apple's is $2756 billion, so if this is the fight they chose my new question is will unity still exist when I wake up …

• @kurtruslfanclub @kurtruslfanclub on x

  If the user installs on their ipad and iphone, that's 30c to Apple and Apple pays 40c to Unity I'm predicting either Apple pushes back against Unity or Unity personal games won't be submittable to the app store next year

• @stephentotilo Stephen Totilo on x

  @cabel Yes, as the article says. It'd be Microsoft, Apple or whoever is running the subscription plan. Very good question about how this would impact deals. Would it even cause subscription providers to think twice about adding Unity-made games?

• @quinnypig Corey Quinn on x

  “We're going to enrage everyone because of 10% of our customers” rings slightly hollow to me.

• @honestduane Duane on x

  Doesn't matter. The gamedev community has decided that they can no longer trust this company. I know many people who are currently doing everything they can to move off of the platform, including canceling projects that were going to use it. Godot, others, get the love instead.

• @jmrivera02 Joshua Rivera on x

  none of this explains why you are trying to institute an insane revenue model that no one else has ever used and acting like it is normal

• @nukefist @nukefist on x

  @unity This fee has still no upper bound, we are penalized for users installing the game on as many devices as they want, and no piracy/fraudulent checks are (nor can be) put in place, leaving it to the developer to figure out.

• r/gamedev r on reddit

  Unity silently removed their Github repo to track license changes, then updated their license to remove the clause that lets you use the TOS from the version …

• r/pcmasterrace r on reddit

  Unity cancels town hall over reported death threats

• r/PS5 r on reddit

  Unity Acknowledges ‘Confusion and Frustration’ Among Developers But Won't Walk Back Install Fee Plan