Why game developers are protesting Unity's new pricing model changes
Cross-platform game engine Unity announced plans to change its pricing model earlier this week. The changes introduced a new pricing scheme that charges developers on a per-install basis for games that mdet a specific number of downloads and revenue thresholds. Followed by the initial reactions from the video game developer community, developers from 19 companies, primarily in Europe and focused on mobile games, have now penned an open letter urging Unity to reconsider its recently announced pricing model changes.
Companies halt monetization and demand reconsideration
In response to the pricing changes, a host of game development companies have turned off all IronSource and Unity Ads monetization across their games. Companies involved include Voodoo, Azur Games, and SayGames. They represent thousands of games. Unity can't make any more revenue in their games until the changes are reconsidered. Nikita Guk, CEO of PR firm GIMZ, who organized the open letter, said, "The new regulations from Unity will affect every project that doesn't generate sufficient income per user."
Unity accused of breaching transparency commitment
Besides monetary changes, developers argue that Unity has breached the transparency established with its terms of service. Companies frequently change their terms of service and terminate agreements. In 2019, Unity committed that it would track changes to the terms of service on GitHub, keeping users informed about future changes in terms of service. However, Unity has since deleted the relevant GitHub repository.
Uncertainty surrounds impact of new pricing
Meanwhile, Unity claims that only 10% of its users will be affected by the new pricing model. However, it remains unclear how the company intends to track installs and differentiate between "valid" and "invalid" installations. This uncertainty adds to the frustration felt by developers who believe that the new pricing structure is not only financially burdensome but also a breach of the transparency Unity had previously established with its user base.
