Official Unity plan pricing and packaging updates

I'm sorry, but this is not an official statement. Also, there's no way they will be able to distinguish this without fingerprinting the devices and they already stated that they are not going to, which makes just another contradiction.

 

Actually they can use prediction algorithms, similar to how SteamDB were able to generate pretty accurate numbers for owners of games on Steam, until steam privatised user profiles by default.

However you are correct that there is no 'proof' of any numbers they come up with using this method, there is also no guarantee that any numbers they come up with are accurate. For example due to the nature of steam DRM I don't think it was ever possible for someone to have pirated a stream game and have it appear in the online library of owned games, so the numbers were pretty accurate ( with various handwaving of edge conditions etc ). That will not be the case with Unity, especially as installs as a metric is complete different to purchases.

So from everything I've read from Unity it looks like they are using prediction algorithms to come up with these magical numbers. Which is obviously a problem and something that developers should not stand for and make the whole thing unworkable.

 

If unity is pondering how to solve this, here is a free $0.20 tip:
The only way out is that the CEO must go.

(and its not enough that he would step down to another position inside unity)

 

I wonder what Apple are thinking right now, having declared Unity as their Vision Pro dev partner.

 

The reality is that Unity should fire EVERYONE involved in this. But if they still want to go through with this:

• Do NOT charge per install or (unbelievably) per reinstall.
• Do NOT charge per update.
• Do NOT enforce this retroactively.

 

Unity is dead, RIP.

 

This is already happening as Unity is forcing certain companies to a new license, to Unity Industry license instead of pro (from ~1900 EUR to ~4500 EUR per seat per year)

 

And then firing him.

 

One thing I am concerned is John Riccitiello himself might not be the one decide this

He sold his share out just 2 days ago. So he might already know this would be crash the stock

Or else this would be seriously an insider trade. Selling stock , make it garbage, then buy it back cheaply before retract decision

 

What happens if someone buys a game on Steam, installs it, and then refound the game?
I don't receive any money from such a purchase, and will it generate costs for me? Sound nice joke.

 

As a hobbyist this doesn't affect me, but the fact that completely new fees are added retroactively is just absurd. How could anyone developing professionally justify using Unity when it has a history of randomly and retroactively changing not just the magnitude of the pricing, but the very nature of it? What's stopping Unity from introducing even more pricing schemes to already released games?

Even if this is just a corporate anchoring tactic and they only made this ridiculous proposal so they could offer a more 'reasonable' one later, as long as it will include these retroactive changes in pricing, there is no way any professional developer could justify using Unity for new projects. There is simply no guarantee that financial forecasts will be relevant, let alone accurate, mere months down the line.

 

This is absolutely crazy

 

Yes this would count as an install. This is one of many scenarios that would screw their userbase.

 

What happens to pirated games dear Unity? If this is enforced retroactively pirates will not know whether to keep releasing new games or blackmail devs of already pirated Unity ones! You need to get serious!

 

no way apple will let unity get a fee for each download an apple user will make (free or paid)

they got to war with unreal for the fees in fortnite.

 

This sounds like a great way to dump your stock prices and purchase it back for a lower price.

 

Doubt this kind of invasive tracking would fly in the EU. Enjoy getting sued.

 

Stock price actually went up since this announcement. Some dudes in suits with no idea about game development are probably rubbing their dirty palms together thinking "yes, this will certainly mean lots more revenue and profits for Unity!". Can't wait until these fools see what happens when everyone abandons this dumpster fire company after this announcement.

 

I'm waiting to see market reactions two hours from now check this page

https://www.google.com/finance/quote/U:NYSE

 

It doesn't matter how it's calculated as they aren't measuring just guessing. Neither they nor the dev has any idea how many times a game has been installed.

Sadly Unity is no longer on the path it was founded, but chasing Shareholders.

 

How would Unity know what revenue a game is generating - there's no way, as far as I can see?

For example, Unity analytics is currently reporting my revenue for last month to be $3500 while the actual amount that reached my account (after the taxes and commisions) are only about $300.

The difference comes not only from the fact that marketplaces charge 30%, US govt 30% (for non-US devs), VAT20%, etc., but also because of the fact that the game uses subscriptions with a trial version. Most users cancel during trial, but there's no way for Unity to know that. Only the backend server receives that data. I imagine Unity counts these canceled trials as revenue, right?

Which means that by the time ~$2000 start reaching my bank account (after taxes and commisions), the game will surpass the revenue thresholds and Unity will start charging about $20 000 per month (by the current install numbers, it may be more).

There's no way the game will ever be able to affort that, the current revenue numbers are about $1 per 1000 installs.
And I can't affort to migrate the game to native or another engine, so the only option will be to shut it down.

And I'm pretty sure this would be the same for countless other indie devs like me or even studios. Is Unity going to address these?

PS: sorry if this question has already been asked, the thread is already huge and hard to follow.

 

Now I am scared

 

I don't agree with the decision, please.

 

It will.
if Devs gone
Engine Dies.

there is no hobby left after this!

**AND DONT TAKE THIS SILENCE HERE!**

Set your Point *CLEAR*
Say : NO!

i really hope (and i need to say, i am not a Friend of Unreal) but i REALLY HOPE
that LOT OF DEVS

changes now!
Always think about: you can keep your models and other.
it s no problem to do them to Unreal.
Animations will also not be lost.

just some Sccript Assets.
That s the Price.

BUT NO POINT TO STAY HERE!

TO EVERYONE HERE:

STOP TO SUPPORT THERE GREEDY! WE ARE THE PPL DOING THE MOST WORK!
not the Assetsellers
Not them

WE ARE!
DO NOT LET YOU ROBBING OF THIS WAY! STOP IT!

 

no no, it will return a clamped value between 0 and 1, but as you can see it is in Update so it will constantly be running after you launch, quietly calculating how much money you owe as numberSold increases.

 

now i really think somebody should buy them.... MS, Apple... etc... it clear that they are not in touch with reality.

I get it. they want money, they don't have enough (or at all) profit, but this is the worst way possible!

 

Ouch, even the terms of service link on that page is broken.

 

Holy crap Unity, do you really want to f*** over your developer base like this?

I understand you want to earn more money, then just do it with a flat fee of x% for anything above 1m revenue and leave everything else in place.

You will never ever be able to verify installs and nobody will trust you on this. Your bulk developer base will be slowly switching to other engines if you are not going to revert this absolute insanity of a pricing model.

 

From a cannon into the sun.

 

After more than 10 years using Unity, learning, working for other companies, I finally decided to do my personal project. But apparently, it will have to be on another engine.

I love Unity, but without a cap that limits the percentage of this fee and without the certainty that this license will not be changed other times in the future to hurt my previous projects, I really can't continue.

I hope they review this policy and that it is changed in the next few days, if not, I'm out.

 

there are many bad consumer behavior such as games accounts being sold and resold.. there is entire business going on there based on account selling.. let alone hardware being sold and moving around.. or those consumers who cheat and hack.. their account will be banned and no revenue will come from it.. and you know what else? Bots... and what's worse there is no solution against it.. not even AAA companies can solve this or have time and money for such problem.. but unity will charge you regardless.

unity charges can multiply over these kinds of bad consumer behaviors at the expense of the developer who fight such things.. so why developers are the ones being taxed here?

it should be at least per user email or account.. or at least accounts which have the game installed for a day.. with minimum one hour play time.. an actual active user account will be more fair to me.

a better option is cut based on revenue. at least it won't be disjointed from the game actual revenue.

 

So apparently Unity is changing it to - initial install, per device.

Please Unity. If you need to make more money genuinely. Just state a royalty fee after a threshold so developers can plan their pricing structures accordingly.

It’s not that hard. Doing all this ambiguous stuff has lead to major questions about the companies goals and intentions.

Who’s going to Audit Unity to ensure that they aren’t fudging the install numbers.

Please understand, your written policy change has lead to mistrust. The policy leads to too much ambiguity and we don’t feel safe planning.

Eg. EU has very specific user policy agreements for user data that is sent, this can block machine information if a user does not consent. How will you know it’s not installed being installed more than once on the same machine if a user has not consented to their data being sent?

 

https://blog.unity.com/news/plan-pricing-and-packaging-updates

Your game must meet both revenue AND install thresholds for the fee to apply.

If your game meets both thresholds, the tiered rates apply and will be charged once per new install.

• Unity Personal and Unity Plus: Those that have made $200,000 USD or more in the last 12 months AND have at least 200,000 lifetime game installs

so, my "game" must MEET made $200k USD ? and 200k installs ? for license ?

so example, my game $10 per player, if 21k player bought, then game made $210k, but only 21k install
Question: I need upgrade unity to unity perosnal/plus ?

 

The revenue they base it on is how much the game makes before any store fees, taxes, etc are taken out. As per this page https://unity.com/runtime-fee:

Most storefronts won't ever include things like chargebacks and refunds in the revenue (e.g. Steam, console platforms), but I can't speak to your trial cancellation situation as I don't know the specifics.

 

Press "F" to pay Runtime Fee.

 

amazing that this isnt said more..
im in same boat, it doesnt effect me currently but they may retroactively do something that does and with this president they could..Unity is no longer viable.. this saddens me greatly..

 

I guess this is my chance to learn packet sniffing

 

We are in this mess because of the greedy stock market. Charging by installs must sound great for unity investors, they love this crap.

 

If it will stand (and I do really hope that it won't) please someone clarify my doubts if I would like to avoid the "runtime fee".

Will sticking to the current LTS version help in that case? I don't give a S*** about new features & updates. I would simply finish my project using this version (which I believe aligns with the TOS that I accepted), release it, and switch engines.

 

I agree, I’m just giving the source for what people here claim.

 

It seems impossible to restore trust without this step. Riccitello is the figurative sword of Damocles over our heads. How else can Unity possibly restore trust at this point? I'm seriously asking. Without sacking those responsible how can the sword of Damocles even be taken down? No right thinking person will ever start a new commercial project in Unity with so much risk. I really don't see how Unity can survive at this point. Trust must be restored to save the company.

Promising not to arbitrarily change the EULA is hardly sufficient. Riccitello already broke that promise.

But as much as sacking these incompetent MBA-types is undoubtedly crucial to the health (if not the viability) of the company, Riccitiello and his confederates are not going go easily or willingly. They will hold on for dear life to their undeserved positions of authority. They will probably be forced out, eventually, but only after Unity is a dying husk.

So again, serious question, is there any viable alternative that restores trust and saves the company? As much as I'd love to see Riccitello booted out on his ass, it's a very unlikely to happen in time to actually matter.

 

For anyone looking for TOS from 2019-Current (Which I believe might be something like 2019-2021, but not sure the end date) you can use the link and through waybackmachine, I was able to find a link it.

Here ya go, not sure if it even matters at this point but thought I'd just do a little bit of a search on this:

https://web.archive.org/web/20201111183311/https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/TermsOfService/blob/master/Unity Software Additional Terms.md

Thankfully whoever decided to archive this did so!

Edit: here is the main link for the base of the project, but unfortunately no other link works (just went through and tried them all hopefully someone thought it'd be good to clone the repo lol)

https://web.archive.org/web/20220716084623/https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/TermsOfService

 

Correct, at least in terms of the blog, thread and FAQ and the assumptions we can currently make.

However to be sure we have to wait for the actual legal license and T&C to be released to know the small print. At which point you might need a lawyer to unpack it to be 100% sure. Which is overall one of the most frustrating aspects of all this - the poor and incomplete communication of the change by Unity.

 

You keep saying that without providing your source, while all official sources say they'll charge for each install.

I don't count the "unity dev without a unity badge" as an official source.

So what is your official source ?

 

I hope this is some sort of prank
I can understand paying $0.2 when user purchases the game
But if every install counts this is too much

 

No, you can't avoid it. Even games released years ago with Unity versions from years back will be charged if they meet the thresholds.

 

3 things I will do from now on:
1. I will keep my current Unity personal installation offline and without account connected (I'm just glad Unity does not have any payment information).
2. I will finish my current project in Unity 2023 offline. I will publish it and I will not accept any of their possible money request (because it's not legal to change the TOS for my current version of Unity), obviously if they try something I will contact my lawyer and make them stop. In the beginning the idea was to just move the project to another engine, but I don't see why I should waste a year or two of development for an illegal retroactive change of TOS, not a reason for me to do that.
3. I will learn Godot so that I will never have to deal with this S*** ever again (I do not trust any company, not even Epic (the CEO can change, the TOS can change... and I still don't like their policy even if it's better than current Unity), I don't want to create anything in something I cannot trust forever... if godot try to do anything I can just create a fork and use that fork since it's open source). Building something new from scratch will not be easy, but it will be better than porting my current project and waste a lot of time.

To all developers: Changing TOS retroactively is ILLEGAL, they can't do it. So don't change your version of Unity3d.

 

Pricing plan is unreal. Yes it will move us to unreal