Unity Pro Development Licences

Is there any way I can get a development license for Unity Pro without having to contract myself in for a year or more?

I have only just found out that I can't subscribe for one or two months at a time for Unity Pro, and I am feeling a little bit lost. I don't have the capital to lock myself in for a 12 month contract with Unity, but I do really need Unity pro over the next one or two months.

$900 USD is a lot of money to me.

Are there any other options for getting a smaller slice of Unity Pro membership? I heard on the web that Unity offered $90 per-month flexible contracts, which would suit me perfectly, but I can't find any information about this (and I have the sinking feeling that it doesn't exist).

Thanks in advance for your help

 

That doesn't exist. It's the subscription or purchase. But there's a student edition, if you're a student

 

I've seen more than one student edition. There's the really cheap one with limitations (not possible to release commercially with it), then there's one that is basically just greatly discounted Pro. The latter is only available from special resellers, and may be regionally limited (only for UK students, as was the case last time I saw one under £500).

 

It doesn't exist. And I don't think I've ever seen any web site that mention this.

I know $900 might seem a lot of money... But the idea is that you create a game, which makes you more than $75/month because it's so good. And you want to keep updating your game, and make some new ones.

 

If the project you need it for doesn't have the potential to pay for the subscription, then you probably don't need it.

Yes that may very well be the idea, but from posts I've seen on the forums it isn't very realistic.

 

Then use free???

 

That's pretty much my point. If he can't make enough with whatever project he "needs" Unity Pro for, then he doesn't really need Unity Pro for that project.

 

That's a fairly impoverished definition of 'need'. He may well need it for features regardless of how much money his project makes. Of course just because you need something doesn't mean you'll get it, but that's another story.

 

If he cannot afford the cost of Unity Pro, he likely won't be able to afford the cost of assets. It may be he still has a good reason for needing it, but I can't imagine this being the case with most people.

 

The pro subscription is what it is and either one can afford it or not. He may very well need Pro but can't afford the monthly outlay of $75 a month but can afford to buy assets that are less each month or on some months he may have the money but not on other months. He may have a day job that is on contract so has no idea if he will have the monthly payment in a few month or maybe he lost his job to lay-offs in the past and doesn't want to commit to something he may not be able to pay. Unfortunately, in many countries, including the US, this is reality.

We need pro for our game. Assets just don't do it and we have spent a lot trying to make free work. At this point we ran into that brick wall so will be subscribing soon. It won't be easy since we will have to purchase more than one license. Will we make that much with our game? Maybe but it won't be for a while. But without pro, we would never even have a game. Unity has given a lot to me personally, changed my life honestly, and I don't begrudge the money.

So there are a lot of different stories and everyone is in different situations. So maybe it is better to not try to analyze a person's financial position or whether they really need pro or not. Better just to say...Sorry, but that is the way it works. Unity is a business and they need to grow and develop new features to thrive, features that will make Unity work better for all of us.

 

Analyzing and making assumptions wouldn't be necessary if he had given a rough idea of why he needed Unity Pro. As then we could have simply given him alternatives or suggestions.

He may simply be a student and unaware of educational discounts. I'm finding myself surprised by how so many students apparently never considered this possibility. I've lost track of how many times I've linked Studica on these forums alone.

He may simply need a way to quickly produce something for a portfolio. Unreal 4 isn't a bad choice for rapidly throwing together something for images, videos, or even a quick demo.

 

Free Unity also works for some rapid stuff, of course

 

I learned that free works great to make sure you reeeaaallly want to do this. I do suggest that one is careful about asset store purchases though. We bought too much, trying to fill holes and ended up with a lot of conflicting assets. Plan what you need now or in the next week, decide what you can do yourself and what you need to buy from the asset store to complete your short term goal. Work on the game and then in a week or two, re-evaluate. You can get a long ways with just free with minimal asset store purchases. Remember you will learn as you go so things that seem impossible now will get easier.

By the time you need pro, which is really great for optimizations and making the visuals nicer, you will have a pretty good idea if you are going to finish your game or if this has just be an enjoyable pastime for several months. That is when you buy Pro.

We are at the optimization level now so really need Pro.

 

People can make stuff for themselves, you know.

 

If you can't afford subscription or perpetual license costs: you can make games with Unity Free and sell them to make money.

If you can afford subscription or perpetual license costs: you can make games with Unity Pro and sell them to make money.

You have the options to ship to Mac, Windows, Linux, Web Player, WebGL (when Unity 5 comes out), iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8, Oculus, Xbox One, PS4, PSVita and Wii U for free. (Console licensing needs approval from the platform holders before you get the free stuff)

tl;dr download Unity Free, make game, sell on stores, make money, buy Unity Pro when you make over 100k. Thats what Mike Bithell did with Thomas Was Alone.

 

So glad all those game makers on the forums are making money with Unity!

 

Its very possible to make games, and sell them for money, with Unity Free. You just have to spend less time forum posting and more time actually making games/writing code/3d modelling/drawing sprites/designing on paper/testing on devices/recording and mixing audio or any other number of things that all go into game development. In fact, thats probably what I should be doing right now!

 

I am sure that is true, Andy. I see lots of people making less than 1$ a month here but you might be right, those are the people who spend too much time posting on the forums.

I do think your response is rather...hmm..not supportive. Lots of people will use free and not make a lot of money. They won't make enough to buy Pro. They will, however, have fun, learn new things, and develop skills they can use for a lifetime. THAT is how Unity changed my life.

I am fortunate in that purchasing Unity Pro at this time is not a hardship. I don't have to make money off free games to buy pro. I feel for those who chase that carrot for years and years. I am sure it is difficult. Better they stop buying pizza and beer and play the $75.

 

I apologise if it seemed not supportive! That was not my intention! I just want people to go out there and have fun making kick-ass games, as opposed to worrying about the process of making games on the forums.

 

Ha! Well, if it didn't take so long to wait for things to download, import, and whatever waiting games we play when we are making games, I bet no one would be on the forums. lol

I happen to be babysitting 4 kids at the moment. Not conducive to concentrating.

 

4 kids? You now have an artist, programmer, audio chap and QA as part of your team!

Babysitting Game Development!

 

The thing is that there's a lot more to making money from games than just the bit where you make the game.

... marketing, creating marketing/sales materials, getting reviews, sending review copies, finding/dealing with publishers, user testing, soliciting feedback, taking your game to tradeshows, (applying for relevant tradeshows), support/help desk, designing/running/maintaining a website, getting featured, getting in bundles, applying for various platform licensing...

I think a lot of people don't make money from their games because they stick to the easy stuff they know how to do (ie: making the game) and avoid the hard stuff they don't know how to do (getting people to buy/download/play/talk about it).

 

If you're not planning to release/sell the things you make, can't you use PRO trial?

 

Except the trial version only lasts for 30 days, then it reverts to Free.

 

OP said he needs a month or two...
If it's a school project or something, he can work for a month on free, then activate pro and finish up the project.

 

Well yes, but they need to make a game first before submitting it for tradeshows and getting it into things like humble bundle. Walk before you can run. But all of what you said is also very important!

 

I bought Unity Indie 2.x for $200 back before there was a free version, then I upgraded to Pro from that because my game, the first game I made with Unity, required it. I needed Asset Bundles and couldn't do the game without them. There are some things in Pro (besides that sweet, sweet, ever-so-desirable dark yummy skin... mmmmm) that are pretty much a requirement for some games.

There are people all over the world from all walks of life who have different financial situations than we do. Everyone's needs and abilities are different. There's no way we can say things like "hey, just save up and buy it then!" or "just make games with the free version and make money until you can buy it" or whatever and have that apply to everyone. We don't know people's circumstances.

I don't use the subscription model for Pro but I know that if it came down to needing Unity Pro for a game and having to use the subscription service currently on offer, I'd probably look elsewhere for an engine. It's because of the simple fact that once you sign on to the subscription, you can't get out until that full payment is made. So if you want to say, stop the subscription and just pay the difference (even with an upgrade fee or something) to upgrade to fully paid off Pro, you can't. You have to finish the duration of the subscription, and when that's over you don't own a license to anything. Kaput. Gone. As soon as I saw that I thought wow, that's pretty strict of a subscription plan, right there. I might be wrong but I think that the current subscription model is causing some people to stay away from bothering with Unity Pro and maybe even look at other engines that yes, do have a subscription but no, don't require you to go to such lengths to fulfill it.

 

Yeah, some ability to flip from a sub to a perpetual license would be neat. I did think I heard mention somewhere that Unity sales will at least discuss it with you, or something like that.

As an individual I find the sub pretty offputting because I'd rather ask my bank for a small loan, repay it at lower rates and keep the product at the end. (Not everyone has ready access to banks that will let you do that, of course.) I mostly see it as being attractive to startup businesses - it costs less up front, if you're still around at the end of the sub ideally you'll have earned enough from it to buy perpetuals, and if you're not you'll be happy to have spent $500 less per seat per platform.

I don't necessarily agree with the thing about not telling people to make games with free to make cash. You'll note above that I clearly don't think it's easy, and there are definitely alternatives (plural) around with different pricing strategies that could offer a lower barrier to entry (with a tradeoff somewhere, of course). So if one of those works better for you then obviously you should go for it. Brand loyalty does nothing for you. Still, nobody's saying you have to persist with the same project that requires the Pro features, and there are plenty of great games you can make without them, and if your only goal is "make enough to buy Pro" you should pragmatically be making something pretty minimal anyway in order to get it out as quickly as possible, and if you've existing experience with Unity that could be of benefit, and Unity free does have both pros and cons when compared to the competition. I'm not saying extra bells and whistles from Pro won't help, just that there are plenty of games you could make where they're not a ground-level requirement, and people don't have to think of their current project as their only project.

Edit: To clarify, I'm not saying it's "the" answer, just "an" answer that might work for some people.

 

Thank you, Ony. That is exactly how I feel. For months now I have thought Unity's "shut up and make money with free so you could buy Pro" is a rather cold way of showing support. Again, a simple, "sorry folks but we have to make money somehow" is more honest. I respect honestly. The first statement is not honest because the vast majority of people are not going to make enough money to buy pro, even if they finish and publish a game. It simply sets them up for failure.

The subscription model is downright scary. Being locked into a year in today's very unstable economy is frightening. It is equivalent to taking out a loan for something you won't own but you will still be liable for if you lose your job or have a medical emergency (we still pay for our medical care here, lots of money). I have never seen anything like it, to be honest.

Andy, those four kids were not mine although I do have four kids. One is a programmer and will be getting a student pro license. He is in college. Two are artists, and will not be using Unity but will be working as "freelancers" to provide us with artwork. They are talented teens.

Working as a family has been awesome, a real joy and another wonderful thing about Unity. I only wish Unity had family discounts because all those pro licenses coming out of one pocket are expensive.

 

Indeed, that would be a "want" not a "need".

Why not? Those are perfectly good options if someone's situation doesn’t allow them purchase the things they want. As are modifying the scope of their game, finding other engines, writing tools themselves and simply finding another hobby. Everyone has challenges and limitations in their life. Everything about making games is finding solutions to challenges. The solution that is 100% guaranteed to fail is complain about pricing, and perceived limitations in an online forum. Making games with the free version is a fantastic solution! It is skill building and low risk. I believe it is a disservice to a potential developer reinforce the belief that their success in the future has anything to do with the tools they access too.
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The reality is that PRO isn't going to make practical difference in a game's success. The design, execution and ability/drive of the developer is what matters. A skilled, creative developer won't be limited by the tools and will still succeed (or find alternate solutions). On the other side most developers (or people who want to be developers) will never succeed, never finish, and in those cases having Pro wouldn't have changed the outcome. Any dev who is limited by their tools was never going succeed in the first place.

It is really hard to avoid the whole "kids these days..." attitude, but man... Game development is never cycle of challenges. Hardware/software/market/tools change constantly. Tools get better, but the hardware ramps up and you right back to hitting walls and coming up with creative solutions. So many of the developers I know and have come through the industry with are largely in it because of the constant challenge. Those moments of pulling of stuff that shouldn't possible, working around problems that are completely out of your control and finding way to do stuff that hasn't been done before. The attitude of "I'll find a way to do it..." is pretty core to every successful dev despite the role or part of the industry. And given the growth rate and amount of competitors today, you pretty much need to have that mindset. Get in a room with a bunch of successful/seasoned devs, and most likely you will hear bragging about the "impossible" things they have done recently. Not complaining about limits of tools.

Unity (free) is an amazing tool. Something not available even a few years ago. Without spending a dime, and having tons of available online resources, a single dev can do amazing things. The popularity of Unity has also lead to other tools becoming available (Unreal/Cry/etc). A couple of years ago, the conversations here tended to be more about development and finding solutions rather than demanding more stuff. It's almost slipped into parody, people wanting Unity to provide "door" scripts and full tutorials on how to build an MMO.

Sorry to rant, it just feels like these forums have become less about actually building games and more about talking about building games. Bah... I am off to try to sculpt some Muppets in ZBrush...

 

Your situation, developing as a family, is just amazing. And fills me with not a small amount of jealousy.

 

Well you certainly took my point about not knowing people's circumstances and proved me wrong. I guess you do know everyone's circumstances and thus can comment with full knowledge of them.

I'm privileged and successful enough to have a totally independent, solid career in game development, and to me it's not too big of a deal to buy Pro or the assets I need or what have you to do what I do. I don't for one second, though, imagine that my situation applies to everyone. I can't speak for everyone. How could I? I could of course ride around on my high horse saying "stop complaining" and "hey I had to pay my dues, you should too" and "why can't you afford it?" but that would be ignoring the reality that everyone comes from different circumstances. It's easy to say "hey, just learn how to do it and then do it!" when you have clear access to internet, a solid job, a steady income, etc. Say that to some dirt poor kid in another country who just wants to make games but can barely get Unity downloaded, never mind spend all her time reading tutorials on the web. Would you tell that kid to forget it then? Just give up because game development is only for those who can afford it? I guess so, because in your words you said they could just "get another hobby".

Aside from all that, there's nothing wrong with people expressing their thoughts that something is overpriced or not worth a certain cost. It doesn't make them whingers or lazy or whatever else you want to project onto them. It just makes them a human being who has a desire to do something and wants to figure out how.

Privilege sure does make us blind.

None of what I said up there really came out how I wanted it to, but I'm too tired to change it. It's 2:30AM and I'm done. Pick it apart, I know it will happen. No big deal. My point is that no, you can not speak for anyone else.

 

This applies to 'real' problems, not artificial ones. I enjoy solving problems as much as the next programmer. But Unity Indie is essentially a bunch of artificial problems already 'solved' by Unity Pro, and are about as arbitrary as you can get. Not having a good profiler, no render textures, no control over animation curves, No LOD support, no static batching, no stencil buffer, and so on, are not 'real' problems. For an indie developer, they are simply roadblocks. Stop trying to sell it as some kind of glorious mountain waiting to be scaled.

As others have said I much prefer the 'sorry you cant have that because of our business model' to the patronizing tone (often quite subtle) of 'if you can't afford it you don't really need it'. Because like Ony just pointed out the former doesn't presume to judge peoples circumstances.

 

This is precisely why I have Unreal 4. If I need better capabilities, that Unity Free is unable to cover, I have an alternative engine with those capabilities. Some may complain about the royalties but as an individual that 5% won't matter much if my game becomes successful and if it fails I'm only out about $19 every few months.

Yes, but what Graham stated was unrealistic. An individual is not likely to make a single game capable of bringing in the revenue necessary to maintain a Unity Pro subscription. Those who have attempted, and posted their successes and failures, on these forums confirm this.

 

One more thing that I am now wondering about. Can someone point me to a list of successful (as in: money-making) games that were made with Unity Free? I'm curious how many there are out there. And by money-making I don't mean making $2 a month. Apparently it's easy to do so I think it would be an inspiration to a lot of developers out there who feel that they need Unity Pro in order to make a game that has a chance.

 

Here is a link to a post I made about games made with Unity free, which has links to other sources:
http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/fu...ty-offer-the-same.235185/page-18#post-1708593

 

I think it is worth noting that both Thomas Was Alone and Wrestle Jump started off as freely available online games. This might be a good approach to eventually going commercial as it allows you to build a fan following ahead of time.

It also helps to drive home the point that you need to market your products. You should not simply develop your product only to throw it up on a distribution platform in the hopes that it will magically become popular. It isn't a sensible approach.

I do need to point out though that these games that are very successful are more the exception than the rule. How many individuals actually reach this degree of success? Especially with their first game like Graham seems to be suggesting.

I feel your statement earlier, namely buying Unity Pro once you've hit the $100,000 limit, was much more realistic.

 

I'll start by saying that what I wrote really didn't come off exactly as I intended either. I apologize for the tone.

Sorry if it sounded that way, not my intent at all, I was speaking to alternate approaches to achieve goals. Everyone has challenges and struggles. I was trying to say that regardless of circumstances, complaining about it isn't the solution. Find a way to work toward your goal or stop if it nothing but a source of aggravation.

First (and not very clear), my ranting comments were largely directed at the scores of posters here and elsewhere, who post pages and pages of complaints about the industry, the players, the market, the tools and tons of reasons they are limited. Folks who clearly have the time and access but as Andy pointed would rather talk than do. I am in no way speaking for anyone/everyone in every situation.

I didn't say anything of the kind, nor would I.

Not what I said. But there is vast difference between expressing an opinion on pricing and accepting a limitation.

That would be an incorrect assumption.

Again, I came off probably too harsh. What I was trying to get at is focusing on limits over solutions won't make games.

 

Arbitrary to you, but presumably critical to UT, as their model has made them successful, and allowed them to provide the free version.

But in reality they aren't really roadblocks. If you need some or all of those elements you have options. The most obvious is Unreal/Cry but there are others as well. Also there ways to get funding from investors to crowdfunding to freelancing.

Don't get me wrong, I love Unity, but I am a "game" developer, not a Unity developer. Its always about finding the right tool for the job. If Unity doesn't fit the bill, there are plenty of other options.

 

@zombiegorilla, I absolutely agree that if one cannot afford Unity Pro, they need to accept their limitations and work with it, not fight it constantly. I do think many new game developers bite off more than they can chew. The excitement of making that game they love to play but they want to change overcomes any reality...or they are simply young and idealistic, believing anything can happen, an attitude that is wonderful in a way, but frustrating to us old folks who know life is not always easy.

But...free has some serious limitations. It is an amazing tool and I highly recommend anyone who makes games to spend at year or longer with Free. It takes years to develop the kinds of games these kids want to make, especially with small inexperienced teams or single long developers. Even your simple FPS shoot'em up game takes a while if you want decent artwork and clean programming, plus something that stands out from the thousands of other games out there. A person who wants to make a 3d rpg in three months is not serious. They might do it, but selling it is another story. That is the definition of hobby.

Discussing the limitations of Free and the price of Pro is natural, especially with the market what it is today. Unity's responses simply don't mesh with what people see out there. Again, Unity needs to change their tactics in this situation and again, be honest. Unity is a small company compared to the huge, usually Chinese, companies that own other Indie engines. Make this is a selling point. I am looking at a new bed and found a website that sells beds handmade in Pennsylvania of real oak and gives much needed jobs to people in my country. That is selling me on those beds...well made, consistent, and it makes me feel good when I buy them. Unity is like that...it makes me feel good compared to some huge conglomerate that makes millions off of inexperienced young people every month.

In my world, mom's my age don't make video games. These forums are the only place I can express myself to people who understand. Honestly, I think these forums and the community are a big reason why Unity is important to me. That also is a huge selling point. So between you and Andy, telling us to stay off the forums is simply making us feel guilty for taking advantage of one of Unity's finest features.

Besides, I am way ahead of my programmers...and am a social person. I need people, even if they are on a forum. It inspires and motivates me.

 

I think this question has been answered. We started in the UK and now we're roughly in Japan with this topic.