"What happens if I am distributing the runtime for commercial purposes?
According to our terms of service, the distribution of the Unity runtime for commercial purposes by Industry Customers requires explicit authorization from Unity and is subject to a fee ("Distribution License') which is generally equivalent to 4.0% of the revenue generated by the software product that incorporates the Unity runtime (discounts may apply). Please contact sales to discuss further."
For folks who didn't make the move to Godot the LAST time Unity pulled this, there's Godot... (not saying that move is easy for everyone, but am just sayin'...)
So somehow Unity gave away or sold part of its engine and now China has a different fork of Unity that has some of the Unreal features built in along with lots of work on Cel-Shading.
Clarification: Unity's "Industry" license is only for non-gaming and non-entertainment applications (e.g. automotive, architecture, etc.). So this doesn't impact developers developing games with Unity.
the entire games industry is reminiscent of cryptocurrency. hundreds of thousands of completely worthless "titles". sole purpose in life is to grab unwitting customers money and run.
in this case, unity grabbing a percentage seems like a trading exchange taking a cut. is the exchange really the 'bad guy' in this interaction?
Most of the outrage was over it applying retroactively and that it was by download, which is quite frankly just a horrible idea and probably why it's not in this rendition.
A percentage of revenue is already what their biggest competitor (Unreal) does, and if they had announced that new versions had it they would have had backlash but not nearly to the extent that occurred.
Unity hasn't been profitable in 5 years, the revenue percentage doesn't even sound unfair, though the download fee was obviously exploitative.
Unity has had different licenses for non-gaming for at least a decade. E.g. gambling has always required a special license. See this Reddit thread from 2015.
Unity’s always had special terms for gambling stuff. It’s not about squeezing more money out, it’s just that slot cabinets and VLTs have to be locked down and audited. Platforms like 2WinPower, SoftSwiss, and Slotegrator usually treat Unity as just the visual layer - all the math and payout logic sits outside in certified modules. That’s why you don’t see revenue-share deals with engine vendors, just flat licenses to keep regulators off your back
The title of this post is just straight up wrong and should be changed or this post flagged. They didn't reintroduce the "Runtime Fee" nor is it called that anywhere on the Unity site. It's an entirely different pricing setup that is virtually identical to Unreal's, just a bit cheaper.
I've been building with unity for some time now and the only thing that actually registers for me is the steam cut. I don't care about the historical drama or per seat licenses if we "make it". Valve is a much bigger mouth to feed in any reality.
Making games is hard and worrying about stuff like this is virtually guaranteed to ensure your failure. Having 100% of $0 isn't gonna take you very far.
In terms of tooling experience, Unity does provide a very compelling blend. If you have any Java or C# background at all, it's very easy to get productive quickly. I think the integration between VS and the unity editor is exceptional.
Stuff like this is why I chose to refactor my project into Godot. It lacks many of the UE/Unity features, so I am building many things myself, but the freedom I get feels worth the work. I have also been working on "commercial" subparts (like a digital twin system for things like datacenters), which this would apply to. I'm increasingly assured my decision was correct.
This is the standard strategy with these things it seems. Claim to remove the unpopular new idea, wait like 6 months and then secretly reintroduce it hoping the second wave have saturated the energy people feel like spending on it or that it goes under the radar.
Unity's failure to communicate will be studied for decades.
They really should of straight matched Unreal's revenue cut from the start, and maybe offer a deduction for site licenses.
Instead they announce something like a 20 cent fee per "initial interaction" which they track via embedded spyware. You had a massive backlash from indie developers who realistically weren't Unity's target in the first place.
People who never programmed or made a commercial product already complaining Unity is coming for them.
That said, Godot is often good enough for what most new programers can actually do.
It's also OK for certain non gaming projects. No need to worry about Unity deciding your not making a game and hiking your fees.
I am fully against this approach, but I do wonder what impact this kind of model might have on the absolute garbage shovelware/adware games that litter app stores, and subsequently the countless ads that try to push people towards those games.
There's no mention of a fee similar to the infamous Runtime fee (which charged per install) here; instead, the closest thing on this page is a mention in the FAQs about how if the Unity runtime is included in a commercial product, then not only do you need permission from Unity to do so but you also will give Unity a fee that is roughly equivalent to 4% of the software's revenue.
This license appears to be intended for users using Unity to augment their business' operations; creating a commercial product with the runtime is treated as an edge case under this license.
In a situation where the software is only used internally, it sounds like it would be very easy to game what "4% of software's revenue" means in both directions.
E.g. Unity argues that the entire production plant is the result of the software, therefore charges 4% on the revenue of the factory, meanwhile the customer argues that the software produces no revenue, because it is not being sold and therefore the bill is $0.
I'm honestly thinking of moving to Epic. I'm a hobbyist and started with Unity because I thought it was easier. But all this stuff makes me reconsider.
Also it's super annoying they have several different rendering pipelines, they all have different ways of doing something and they haven't chosen one to rule them all, that will be the one going forward. I hate this ambiguity.
I think it makes more sense now to learn epic instead of diving into whatever pipeline is unity's current baby knowing it'll probably change again.
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[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 58.3 ms ] threadAccording to our terms of service, the distribution of the Unity runtime for commercial purposes by Industry Customers requires explicit authorization from Unity and is subject to a fee ("Distribution License') which is generally equivalent to 4.0% of the revenue generated by the software product that incorporates the Unity runtime (discounts may apply). Please contact sales to discuss further."
For folks who didn't make the move to Godot the LAST time Unity pulled this, there's Godot... (not saying that move is easy for everyone, but am just sayin'...)
in this case, unity grabbing a percentage seems like a trading exchange taking a cut. is the exchange really the 'bad guy' in this interaction?
its the 2020s: We're All Trying To Make Money.
A percentage of revenue is already what their biggest competitor (Unreal) does, and if they had announced that new versions had it they would have had backlash but not nearly to the extent that occurred.
Unity hasn't been profitable in 5 years, the revenue percentage doesn't even sound unfair, though the download fee was obviously exploitative.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Unity3D/comments/35xt2r/unity3d_gam...
They're going to feel all kinds of pressure to monetize users harder, and if they fail at that, they go bankrupt.
https://valustox.com/U
Making games is hard and worrying about stuff like this is virtually guaranteed to ensure your failure. Having 100% of $0 isn't gonna take you very far.
In terms of tooling experience, Unity does provide a very compelling blend. If you have any Java or C# background at all, it's very easy to get productive quickly. I think the integration between VS and the unity editor is exceptional.
They really should of straight matched Unreal's revenue cut from the start, and maybe offer a deduction for site licenses.
Instead they announce something like a 20 cent fee per "initial interaction" which they track via embedded spyware. You had a massive backlash from indie developers who realistically weren't Unity's target in the first place.
People who never programmed or made a commercial product already complaining Unity is coming for them.
That said, Godot is often good enough for what most new programers can actually do.
It's also OK for certain non gaming projects. No need to worry about Unity deciding your not making a game and hiking your fees.
Godot is much more hacker friendly than Unity, IMO. Ymmv
The only thing is editor speed but given how few features godot has, it's not surprising.
I wish someone just took what Unity does and made it a copy with better editor performance and open source.
With Unreal on one side, and Godot on the other, where while C# is supported, it is mostly for Unity refugees, there are very few other options left.
Yes there are MonoGame, FNA, Stride and so on, but they lack the same kind of mindshare across the industry.
This license appears to be intended for users using Unity to augment their business' operations; creating a commercial product with the runtime is treated as an edge case under this license.
E.g. Unity argues that the entire production plant is the result of the software, therefore charges 4% on the revenue of the factory, meanwhile the customer argues that the software produces no revenue, because it is not being sold and therefore the bill is $0.
A fixed monthly fee solves this problem.
Also it's super annoying they have several different rendering pipelines, they all have different ways of doing something and they haven't chosen one to rule them all, that will be the one going forward. I hate this ambiguity.
I think it makes more sense now to learn epic instead of diving into whatever pipeline is unity's current baby knowing it'll probably change again.