In a brief statement on X (Formerly Twitter), Unity confirmed that they would be making changes to the new install fee they plan to implement with their engine in 2024. After receiving feedback from their team members, community, customers, and partners, the company made the decision to make adjustments to their policy only five days after the initial announcement was made. Unity has stated they will provide an update in a few days on what changes will be coming to their install fee policy.
The full statement made by Unity can be viewed below:
We have heard you. We apologize for the confusion and angst the runtime fee policy we announced on Tuesday caused. We are listening, talking to our team members, community, customers, and partners, and will be making changes to the policy. We will share an update in a couple of…
— Unity (@unity) September 17, 2023
Developers using the Unity Engine for their games will have to pay a fee for every install made by players starting in January 2024. Developers were shocked and upset by the decision, causing waves in the gaming community as both small indie developers and large companies like Ubisoft, Niantic, and miHoYo use Unity Engine. Unity was forced to clarify its stance and future policies, but developers and fans alike were not pleased with the explanations provided by Unity.
Unity originally planned to charge for multiple installations but decided to drop the policy after developers feared bad actors abusing this system to do multiple installs, frivolously called “install bombing.” Game Pass downloads will still count, but the burden of the cost will be carried by Microsoft and not developers. Demos will not receive a charge as long as it is a vertical slice of the game and not a full game download or a beta.
Unity plans to implement a new install fee model on January 1, 2024.
