Massive Monster joked that Cult of the Lamb could be removed from sale on January 1, 2024. This was brought on due to changes in fees from using the Unity Engine, which the game built on. (Editor’s Note: This was updated on September 13, 2023.)
Massive Monster made the announcement that it will be “deleting” Cult of the Lamb as of January 1, 2024. This is because the game is built on the Unity Engine, which will see the introduction of a new install fee. This fee will require developers to pay Unity a fixed price for each install of the game.
Buy Cult of the Lamb now, cause we’re deleting it on Jan 1st. https://t.co/nSWg9DP0sh
— Cult of the Lamb (@cultofthelamb) September 12, 2023
It then followed up with the following message:
The amount of news channels that 100% believed us have clearly never seen this image before. https://t.co/08q8eufRVC pic.twitter.com/4LiLW9tYfb
— Cult of the Lamb (@cultofthelamb) September 13, 2023
A similar sort statement was issued by the publisher Devolver Digital. In a post on the social media site formerly known as Twitter, the company advised developers to mention the engine they’re using when pitching the title. While not explicitly stated, it seems it could affect if the company will be interested in publishing games built in Unity going forward.
Definitely include what engine you’re using in game pitches.
It’s important information!
— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) September 12, 2023
Cult of the Lamb isn’t the only game whose developers have expressed frustration in Unity’s decision. Among Us developer Innersloth confirmed it is looking into porting the game to a different engine. Aggro Crab, currently working on the undersea Soulslike Another Crab’s Treasure, called on Unity to reverse the stance in their typical foul-mouthed fashion. VR onboarding platform SideQuest VR confirmed that it will not tolerate the personal data of their users being used for this purpose.
Cult of the Lamb is available now for the Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. It may be removed from sale on January 1, 2024.
