“This must be a partnership based on trust”: Unity has finally abolished the Runtime commission for the number of game installations

The manufacturer of the multiplatform engine Unity, on the anniversary of the announcement of the Runtime commission for game creators, which outraged the developer community, announced its final and immediate cancellation.

Image source: Mihoyo

Let’s remember that from January 1, 2024, Unity was going to start charging developers for each installation of the game after overcoming a certain threshold. Amid an extremely negative reaction, the company made concessions:

• Postponed the debut of the commission until the release of the next LTS version of Unity;
• Games already released or being developed under the old conditions were decided not to be touched;
• The runtime was supposed to affect games from developers on Unity Pro and Enterprise, whose revenue over the past 12 months exceeded $1 million;
• The Unity Personal plan was left free, the acceptable level of earnings with it was increased and excluded from the Runtime commission.

According to Unity CEO and President Matt Bromberg, after “detailed discussions with our community, customers and partners,” the company decided to completely abandon the Runtime commission for game developers.

Image source: Unity

Bromberg added that Unity strives to democratize game development, but this cannot be achieved by conflicting with clients: “It has to be a partnership based on trust.”

«We want to deliver valuable capabilities at a fair price in an efficient way so that you can feel comfortable growing your business over the long term by choosing Unity as your partner,” Bromberg said.

Unity 6 is expected to be released at the end of 2024 (image source: Unity)

Unity is returning to a seat-based subscription model for all game developers. What to expect:

• Unity Personal – subscription will remain free;
• Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise—subscription prices and annual revenue thresholds will change starting January 1, 2025;
• Unity Pro – subscription price will increase by 8% ($2200) per seat per year. Customers with annual revenue and funding over $200K will need Unity Pro;
• Unity Enterprise – subscription price will be increased by 25%. Customers with annual revenue and funding greater than $25 million will require Unity Enterprise.

The elimination of runtime fees for games and the implementation of new prices should allow Unity to “continue investing in improving game development tools for everyone, while maintaining good partnerships with customers.”