A Potential Earthquake in the Videogame Industry: UNITY Install Fees

[Storyteller Hero]

Game devs say Unity’s big change puts studios at risk

So apparently there was an announcement about Unity having an install fee PER game copy downloaded.

The information is unfortunately vague coming from the company, but this could affect a wide range of games, many of which people might not even realize uses Unity, especially on their phones, like Pokemon GO, Angry Birds 2, and Temple Run.

If the worry about pirate downloads is being interpreted correctly, what happens if someone pirates a game and the software anonymously adds to the fees that the publisher/developer have to pay?

Could this end up in a number of lawsuits against Unity Technologies?

A lot of game companies will have to switch engines or might have to shutter down.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

This could put FantasyGround under serious pressure. It breaks the Ultimate licence.

 

[CleverNickName]

I'll have to keep my eye on this development. I'm a fan of Hollow Knight, and I'm eagerly looking forward to Silksong...but this could crush my enthusiasm for both instantly.

 

[Storyteller Hero]

So apparently a reporter for Axios got a little more detail from Unity.


"I got some clarifications from Unity regarding their plan to charge developers per game install (after clearing thresholds)

- If a player deletes a game and re-installs it, that's 2 installs, 2 charges

- Same if they install on 2 devices

- Charity games/bundles exempted from fees"

I'm a little aghast that if some customer has a hiccup on their internet or computer and has to re-install their apps, a publisher of a game might have to pay for something out of their control.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

It's weird to watch companies try to speedrun themselves into oblivion.

 

[Ryujin]

This could put FantasyGround under serious pressure. It breaks the Ultimate licence.

I was thinking about the "free" license.

 

[darjr]

It's weird to watch companies try to speedrun themselves into oblivion.

Yea. Truly a bizarre decision.

 

[Ibrandul]

So basically Unity followed the OGL crisis and said that went great let’s do that

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I was thinking about the "free" license.

So was I, since there are 3 to 6 demo installs for each ultimate license.

 

[Ryujin]

So was I, since there are 3 to 6 demo installs for each ultimate license.

The number of "demo" installs is potentially unlimited, if they connect to an Ultimate user. Imagine a professional GM who runs multiple campaigns for different groups, or someone who has several different online-only groups.