The President of Unity Create Responds to Backlash Over Runtime Fee Announcement

In an open letter, Marc Whitten, the president of Unity Create, has addressed the backlash regarding the recent announcement of the Unity Runtime Fee. Whitten acknowledges the need for better communication and feedback from the community and outlines several changes to the policy to be implemented before it takes effect in 2024.

Whitten begins his letter by expressing his apologies: “I want to start with simply this: I am sorry,” he writes. “We should have spoken with more of you and we should have incorporated more of your feedback before announcing our new Runtime Fee policy. Our goal with this policy is to ensure we can continue to support you today and tomorrow, and keep deeply investing in our game engine.”

Revised Policy Details

Whitten goes on to explain the modifications to the Runtime Fee policy. Notably, Unity Personal and Unity Plus users will no longer be subject to the fee. Additionally, the annual revenue and funding limit for Unity Personal is being raised from $100,000 to $200,000. Furthermore, developers will no longer be required to include the “Made in Unity” splash screen in their games; it will now be optional.

Whitten also clarifies that games with less than $1 million in trailing 12-month revenue will no longer be affected by the Runtime Fee. However, Unity Pro and Enterprise users will still be subject to the fee. The fee will only apply to games created with the next Long Term Support (LTS) release in 2024. Games that have already been released or are currently in development will not be impacted, unless they choose to upgrade.

Regarding the payment options for affected users, Whitten explains that they will have the choice between a 2.5% revenue share or a calculated amount based on the number of “unique initial engagements” their game receives. Users will pay whichever amount is smaller, and both costs will be calculated using self-reported data.

Gratitude for Feedback

Whitten concludes his letter with gratitude for the community’s passionate feedback and concerns: “Thank you for caring as deeply as you do, and thank you for giving us hard feedback.”

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