Game developers are still furious about Unity’s planned install fees, but the platform holder is holding fast to its new policy, arguing that “90 percent of [Unity] customers will not be affected by this change.
Ackowledging the “confusion and frustration” stemming from the proposed runtime fees, Unity sought to clarify questions about how the company defines and counts installs — one of the major sticking points around the new policy. Unity has previously said that it will charge $0.20 per install for any game with more than 200,000 installs, raising questions about multiple installs, Game Pass, and other issues.
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…
— Unity (@unity) September 13, 2023
Unity claims it will only count “net new installs” on any devices starting January 1. It also says developers won’t pay fees on re-installations, “fradulent” installs through botnets and other tricks, trial versions, web and streaming games, and charity-related installs. Unity also updated its official blog with more details.
Unity’s clarifications didn’t seem to placate users. The post currently sits at close to 1000 comments to just 239 likes.
“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,” the official account behind Genokids argued.
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.
— GENOKIDS (@nukefist) September 13, 2023
Other developers urged Unity to fully walk back the plan, which has been heavily criticized for heaping unplanned expenses on smaller games. Cult of the Lamb and Among Us are among the games that face being pulled from digital marketplaces if Unity continues with its plan.
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