Exactly a year after it was first announced, Unity -- the company behind the widely-used game engine of the same name -- have today backed down over their plans to charge companies royalties (referred to as a "runtime fee") for using their engine, stating that they are now canceling plans to charge said fees entirely, effective immediately. On top of this, Unity will also be making changes to pricing as well as the qualifying annual revenue thresholds, following the shift to a subscription-based model back in 2016.
Speaking on today's reversal, Unity Technologies President and CEO Matt Bromberg, in a press release, explained the reasoning behind today's reversal.
"After deep consultation with our community, customers, and partners, we’ve made the decision to cancel the Runtime Fee for our games customers," Bromberg begins.
"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."
How It All Started
Unity's controversial move began...