Unity makes a move on pricing
Marc Whitten, the head of Unity Create, has shared an important update regarding Unity’s pricing structure. This update begins with a sincere apology from the creators of this widely used graphics engine. This apology was necessary because the previously announced pricing changes caught both the gaming community and developers off guard.
In response to the concerns raised, Unity will be making several adjustments. Firstly, they will raise the revenue cap from $100,000 to $200,000, and they will no longer require developers to display the “Made with Unity” splash screen. These modifications primarily impact creators utilizing the Unity Personal license. Additionally, there will be no Runtime Fee, and Whitten clarifies that games generating over $1 million in revenue over the past 12 months will not be subject to this fee.
Unity Updated Pricing Plans (September 22nd 2023)
- Unity Personal Plan:
- No Runtime Fee for Unity Personal games.
- Cap increased from $100,000 to $200,000.
- No requirement to use the Made with Unity splash screen.
- Games with less than $1 million in trailing 12-month revenue exempt from the fee.
- Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise:
- Runtime Fee policy starts with the next LTS version in 2024 and beyond.
- Existing games and projects unaffected unless upgraded to the new Unity version.
- Maintain current terms as long as you stick with your current Unity editor version.
- Runtime Fee Options:
- Games subject to the fee can choose between:
- 2.5% revenue share.
- Calculated fee based on monthly new player engagement.
- Billed the lesser amount.
- Games subject to the fee can choose between:
For users of Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise licenses, these changes will take effect starting with the next Long-Term Support (LTS) version, which is set to be released in 2024 and beyond. Existing games that have already been shipped and are using previous versions of the engine will remain unaffected by these pricing updates, unless developers voluntarily choose to upgrade to the newer Unity version.
It appears that Unity will rely on self-reported data from developers for pricing calculations. Developers will have the option to select either a 2.5% revenue share or a fee based on the number of players engaging with their games. In both cases, developers will be charged the lesser of the two amounts.