AppLovin Develops Free Tool for Unity Project Migration

Last year, AppLovin’s attempt to acquire Unity fell through, but now they have come up with a way to help developers migrate their Unity projects to other engines. In response to Unity’s unpopular introduction of a Runtime Fee, AppLovin has announced a free tool that utilizes ChatGPT to facilitate the transition to the Godot or Unreal engines. The tool aims to simplify the script migration process, which AppLovin believes is the biggest challenge for developers.

According to AppLovin CTO Basil Shikin, Unity’s engine APIs cannot be easily ported to other platforms, and migrating scripts requires understanding the equivalent APIs of the target engine. However, Shikin believes that modern language models like ChatGPT can greatly simplify the migration process, as they excel at translating both language and coding. The current version of the tool is a proof of concept, demonstrating the potential of ChatGPT in easing the transition.

AppLovin’s newfound interest in helping Unity comes after their CEO, Adam Foroughi, publicly shared a letter outlining what he would have done differently. The company hopes that with further development, including the implementation of static asset migration and improved LLM prompts, the tool can assist hundreds of developers in effectively migrating their projects from Unity to other engines. While larger projects may require additional work, AppLovin aims to streamline the process through the use of ChatGPT.

Unity’s Response and AppLovin’s Offer

Unity has promised changes to the Unity Runtime Fee but has yet to clarify the nature of those changes. In a leaked company all-hands meeting, CEO John Riccitiello acknowledged that the situation could have been handled better. Former Unity CEO David Helgason also expressed regret, stating, “We fucked up on so many levels.” Meanwhile, AppLovin is stepping up to help developers navigate the migration process.

As a top 50 mobile game maker of 2023, Unity holds a significant position in the industry. AppLovin’s free migration tool could provide valuable assistance to developers seeking alternatives to Unity in light of recent events.