Erin

When you start saying something completely mask-off and scramble halfway through to find a justification that sounds semi-plausible

The cost of using Unity as a game engine is once again about to increase. Starting in January 2024, the company will begin charging what it's calling a "Unity Runtime Fee" based on the number of users installing games built on the widely-used engine.

The Runtime Fee will kick in after developers cross specific revenue and install thresholds that scale with different subscription plans. For those on Unity Personal or Unity Plus licenses, the fee will kick in after a project crosses both $200,000 in revenue over 12 months and 200,000 total installs. Developers operating on the Unity Pro or Unity Enterprise licenses will be granted a higher threshold before they begin owing fees. For those devs, the charge will kick in after a title earns $1 million over that same 12-month period and passes 1 million installs.

According to a breakdown sent to Game Developer by Unity, fees will be charged on a monthly basis. The amount charged per install will also vary depending on the license. Unity Personal and Plus developers will pay a flat fee of 20 cents per install. Pro and Enterprise users will pay a smaller per-install fee that scales downward with the number of installations over the initial threshold. Pro user fees will begin at 15 cents per install and scale downward to as low as .02 cents per install, while Enterprise user fees will begin at 12.5 cents per install and scale down to as low as .01 cents per install.

Unity stated in a blog that it is implementing the Runtime Fee in lieu of a revenue-sharing program. The company said it believes "an install-based fee allows creators to keep the ongoing financial gains from player engagement."

As for why Unity has chosen to introduce these new fees, Unity Create president Marc Whitten told Game Developer the company is seeking to "better balance the value exchange" between Unity and developers.

After discussing the ins and outs of the fee, Whitten chose to speak more plainly about why Unity is charging developers an additional fee. As he put it, "We want to make more money so that we can continue to invest in the engine."

For more on this topic, including the full fee structure and Unity's response to our reporting, read the full article at Game Developer.