Unity is axing its maligned Runtime Fee

Last year, game engine company Unity came up with and revealed a new plan that quickly spiralled into a monumental amount of backlash. It was called the Runtime Fee, and it was effectively a way to tax those who use Unity based on the number of installations from players that their project received after surpassing specific milestones. Fans were not supportive of the idea and developers weren't impressed either, with some going as far as moving from Unity's services and instead exploring what Epic's Unreal Engine can offer instead.

Well, following a manic year that included the resignation of maligned CEO John Riccitiello, Unity's new boss Matt Bromberg has released a statement to reveal that the Runtime Fee is going the way of the dodo and that Unity will be reverting to the subscription-based model it previously used.

Speaking about the decision, Bromberg adds: "Over the last 20 years, we've partnered with brilliant designers and developers, artists and engineers, publishers and platforms, to build a world where great games could be built by anyone, for everyone. We called it "democratizing game development," and it remains our core mission today.

"However, we can't pursue that mission in conflict with our customers; at its heart, it must be a partnership built on trust. I've been able to connect with many of you over the last three months, and I've heard time and time again that you want a strong Unity, and understand that price increases are a necessary part of what enables us to invest in moving gaming forward. But those increases needn't come in a novel and controversial new form. We want to deliver value at a fair price in the right way so that you will continue to feel comfortable building your business over the long term with Unity as your partner. And we're confident that if we're good partners and deliver great software and services, we've barely scratched the surface of what we can do together."

This means that developers will still be able to access Unity Personal entirely for free and even benefit from a revenue ceiling that is twice as high ($200,000 instead of $100,000) meaning they won't see charges until their game surpasses this higher revenue figure. The Unity Pro and Enterprise tiers will get cost hikes however, with Pro increasing 8% and Enterprise up by 25%.

Bromberg rounds off by noting, "From this point forward, it's our intention to revert to a more traditional cycle of considering any potential price increases only on an annual basis. Our commitment remains that if we change the Editor software terms in ways that impact you, you may continue using your current version of the software under the previously agreed terms as long as you keep using that version."

He concludes: "Canceling the Runtime Fee for games and instituting these pricing changes will allow us to continue investing to improve game development for everyone while also being better partners."