Game developers furious as Unity Engine announces new fees
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https://archive.ph/X5nU4
Gotta get that extra surplus value somehow
Original link: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2023/sep/12/unity-engine-fees-backlash-response
Would be nice if more people started using Godot because of this.
It's not clear to me from the article but is Unity going to charge their old customers retroactively under this new landlord-type scheme? Because that sounds illegal.
Yeah, that's my understanding. The article mentions how this is going to especially pose a problem with services like GamePass
From another journalist who covered this: (nitter)
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
Edit: Someone got to stealing this joke before I did lol https://hexbear.net/post/581395
looks like i won't be learning to use unity after all.
not that i actually ever wanted to. i always wanted to use godot, only wanted to learn unity so i could easily find a job in the indie game industry.
unity's an overly complex, difficult-to-navigate-through mess anyway.
Conveniently timed to let the CEO get some insider trading out of his system, too: https://dotesports.com/business/news/unitys-controversial-business-decision-comes-mere-days-after-ceo-sells-2000-shares
Anyone shopping around in the last 1-2 years for which game engine their first/next indie game should be already sees a ton of "just use godot, especially if you're making a 2d game". Unity's future as a legacy engine was already set in stone in the eyes of the wider indie gamedev community before this announcement.
Open Source Javascript stuff is also kind of hot, considering that mobile devices are getting fast enough to side-step how slow JS (for 2d games at least).
Also Open Source Rust stuff is also going to be popping up on less esoteric radars soon.
Unreal Engine (not libre) is getting easier for indie devs to make higher-end projects.
Any way you look at it, Unity is surrounded by all sides. It's just a matter of time for the momentum to manifest as actual games/studios.