Unity introduced a pricing system that ``fees are generated every time a game is installed'' and game developers were furious, and ``Unity Plus'', which costs about 50,000 yen per year, also stopped accepting new applications.
Changes to pricing and Unity plans 2023 FAQ | Unity
https://unity.com/pricing-updates
Official - Unity plan pricing and packaging updates - Unity Forum
Unity plan pricing and package updates | Unity Blog
https://blog.unity.com/ja/news/plan-pricing-and-packaging-updates
Until now, Unity has offered a plan for individuals called 'Unity Personal,' 'Unity Plus' and 'Unity Pro,' which have more features, and a top-of-the-line plan called 'Unity Enterprise.' They accept monthly or annual payments. I did.
From January 1, 2024, in addition to the flat fee mentioned above, we will introduce a ' Unity Runtime Fee ' that charges a fee based on the number of times a game is 'installed'. There are thresholds for applying the Unity Runtime Fee, and for 'Unity Personal' and 'Unity Plus', 'If the revenue in the past 12 months exceeds $200,000 (approximately 29.5 million yen)' and 'Installation This will apply if the number of times exceeds 200,000.
The fees are as follows. For 'Unity Personal' and 'Unity Plus', 0.2 dollars (about 30 yen) will be charged for each installation regardless of the number of installations, and for other plans, the unit price will be charged according to the number of installations. will change. Unity explains these changes because 'every time a game is downloaded, a critical piece of software called the Unity runtime is also installed.'
The table above also lists prices for 'Emerging Markets,' but this is based on Unity's classification, which changes prices for each country, and 'Standard' is more applicable in Japan. According to Unity's
This news was received with disgust by the game development community. Specifically, fees are charged based on the number of installs, so if a single user installs multiple times, installs on multiple devices, or even installs a pirated game. Concerns have arisen that this may happen, and many calls for billing transparency have been raised on official forums and in replies to X's post.
Today we announced a change to our business model which includes new additions to our subscription plans, and the introduction of a Runtime fee. We wanted to provide clarifying answers to the top questions most of you are asking.
— Unity (@unity) September 12, 2023
Yes, this is a price increase and it will only…
According to Unity, if a user reinstalls or redownloads the game, or installs it on multiple devices, it will be counted as multiple installs and will incur fees.
-Added on September 15, 2023: Unity has revised the forum description to clearly state that 'reinstallation does not count as multiple installations.'
Regarding the case where a pirated version is installed, Unity explains, ``Our advertising technology has already implemented fraud detection techniques that solve similar problems, and we will use that know-how as a starting point.'' In light of the concerns, it promises to provide 'a process by which concerns can be raised with our Fraud Compliance Team.'
This explanation includes comments such as ``Are you sure you haven't started working on this starting point yet? We only have 4 months left'' and ``Is it theoretically possible to distinguish between pirated installations and legitimate installations?'' If it were possible, we could sell it as a perfect DRM (digital rights management) technology and make a lot of money.'' Comments such as ``If it were possible, we could make a lot of money by selling it as a perfect DRM (digital rights management) technology. .
Speaking of DRM, it has been pointed out that Unity itself will start requiring DRM-based authentication to use its services. According to the help page, Unity has established a ``new sign-in option'' in the ``Unity Personal'' plan that requires you to sign in with your ``Unity ID'' and connect to the Internet in order to use Unity. thing. This means you can only use Unity offline for up to 3 days. Further details will be provided once the changes become effective.
In addition to the above changes, Unity has announced that it will stop accepting new contracts for the 'Unity Plus' plan as of September 12, 2023. Users with a Unity Plus contract can use the plan until March 27, 2024, and if there is no renewal by this date, it will automatically switch to 'Unity Personal'. We also offer a discount that allows you to use Unity Pro for a year at the price of Unity Plus.
Due to the suspension of acceptance of Unity Plus, it has also been revealed that some functions such as ``Unity Asset Manager'' will be lifted in Unity Personal, which had previously been restricted. However, for users who have been making full use of Unity Plus' features, the suspension will be a big blow, and they will have to consider Unity Pro, which costs nearly five times as much per year.
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Game developers keep posting angry comments about Unity's suddenly announced ``fee system based on the number of game installations'' - GIGAZINE
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