Unity acknowledges “the confusion and frustration” around its planned install fees but argues that “more than 90% of our customers will not be affected”
We have everything! … Kyle Thomas / Game Rant : Unity Thinks Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Will Shoulder Engine Fees Harrison Thomas / Dot Esports : Unity shuts down offices, cancels town hall meeting after death threats Nick Robertson / The Hill : Video game company closes offices, cancels town hall due to death threat following pricing decision: reports Cal Jeffrey / TechSpot : Unity closes two offices over “credible death threat” amid runtime fee and insider trading controversies Andy Chalk / PC Gamer : Unity temporarily closes offices and cancels CEO meeting after receiving ‘potential threat’ Michael Tsai / mjtsai.com : Unity Runtime Fee Brendan Sinclair / GamesIndustry.biz : Unity closes offices in wake of death threat Tom Richardson / BBC : Unity engine: Among Us and Slay the Spire makers join criticism Kyle Orland / Ars Technica : Unity's new “per-install” pricing enrages the game development community Casey Muratori / Computer, Enhance! : Game Development Post-Unity X: @unity : 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 : 👋 @unity [image] Geoff Keighley / @geoffkeighley : @unity What a joke. Rami Ismail / @tha_rami : 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. Paul Tassi / @paultassi : 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] Crema / @cremagames : So long, and thanks for all the fish @unity [image] @teamjunkfish : Our response to the Unity news #UnityEngine [image] @dotemu : 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 : 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😶 Mike Rugnetta / @mikerugnetta : I would love to know what Unity *thought* was gonna happen John Linneman / @dark1x : 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 : 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 : @unity Stop this nonsense! [image] @gamemakerengine : 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 : Here's our statement about what's happened with Unity recently: [image] @completionist : 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 Andy Touch / @andytouch : 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 : 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 / @izumi_niche : 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 : 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 : You will see many more of these. Unity signed its own death certificate. Joakim ‘konjak’ Sandberg / @konjak : 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 : 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/... George Broussard / @georgebsocial : 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! Kommander Karl / @kommanderkarl : 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... [image] Jessica Harvey / @oysterfake : unity leadership is not fit for purpose by any definition. embarrassing [image] Dillon Rogers / @tafferking451 : 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. Damion Schubert / @zenofdesign : 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] Ricardo Juchem / @ricardojuchem : 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 : 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. Casey Muratori / @cmuratori : 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 : 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 : 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... Barry Kramer / @razzadoop : 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 : 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_ : 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. Dominic Tarason / @dominictarason : 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 : 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 : 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 Tom Warren / @tomwarren : someone has edited the Wikipedia entry for greed to describe Unity CEO John Riccitiello as “one of the greediest people alive” [image] Dillon Rogers / @tafferking451 : Again, placing a lot of administration work on developers to know when a pirated copy is activated. [image] Kris Antoni / @kerissakti : 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 : A message to @unity and the Lunistice community [image] John Linneman / @dark1x : 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 : “Why are we screwing over everyone who makes games using the Unity engine? Why? Because FUCK YOU! GIVE ME MONEY!” @emiliana_vt : 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 : He only needed 3 words [image] Thaddeus Crews / @repiteo : THEY MADE THIS AN AD LMAO [image] David Szymanski / @duskdev : 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 : 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 : 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? PolyMars / @polymarsyt : here's the translation [image] @gamemakerengine : [image] @ckunzelman : 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. Rami Ismail / @tha_rami : 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. Nick Kaman / @smashynick : 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! Nick Kaman / @smashynick : 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 Nick Kaman / @smashynick : 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 🙃 Paul Kilduff-Taylor / @mode7games : 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 : @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? Paul Tassi / @paultassi : TLDR: we want Genshin Impact to pay us a billion dollars Mike Drucker / @mikedrucker : 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” George Broussard / @georgebsocial : 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.... Chris Franklin / @campster : 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. Doc / @docsquiddy : 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 : 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 [image] @kurtruslfanclub : 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 Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo : @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? Corey Quinn / @quinnypig : “We're going to enrage everyone because of 10% of our customers” rings slightly hollow to me. Duane / @honestduane : 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. Joshua Rivera / @jmrivera02 : 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 : @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. Forums: r/gamedev : 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 : Unity cancels town hall over reported death threats r/PS5 : Unity Acknowledges ‘Confusion and Frustration’ Among Developers But Won't Walk Back Install Fee Plan
Context & Ripple Effects
Unity's reassurance arrived immediately after its installation-based fee announcement, which tied charges to a game's installs and a developer's plan tier. The dispute matters because the pricing model reaches into the economics of shipping and operating games, not merely a higher subscription price.
The initial defense did not settle the issue: subsequent coverage records Unity considering a revenue-based fee cap and later exempting Unity Personal projects through a revised Runtime Fee policy. That sequence makes this response an early test of how much latitude engine vendors have to alter monetization terms.
First-order effects
- Developers must determine whether their plan tier and install volumes place them among the customers exposed to the proposed fee, adding immediate budgeting and release-planning uncertainty.
- Unity faces an immediate credibility and communication problem: saying most customers are unaffected does not resolve the pricing mechanics for the studios that may be affected.
Second-order effects
- Studios evaluating engine commitments gain an incentive to compare Unity's terms with alternatives, including Unreal Engine's already-existing fee model, with pricing predictability becoming a sharper selection criterion.
- The backlash increases pressure on Unity to narrow, cap, or otherwise clarify the charge—an outcome later reflected in discussion of a 4% revenue cap and subsequent exemptions.
Third-order effects
- If engine vendors increasingly seek revenue after a game ships, developers may treat engine pricing as an ongoing operating-risk decision rather than a one-time tooling choice.
- The episode points toward greater demand for stable terms and clearer change processes in developer infrastructure, particularly where suppliers can affect a game's unit economics after production has begun.
The trend: Game-development platforms are testing post-launch monetization models, making pricing governance and contractual predictability more central to engine competition.