Unity introduces per-install fee for game developers | Hacker News Reader

Unity introduces per-install fee for game developers

unity.com

26 pointsfyrn_13 comments

Discussed multiple times:

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=pastWeek&page=0&prefix=fal...

[dupe]

More discussion over here on the official blog post, 2 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37481344

For developers the per-install fee is an additional unwelcome cost, and one that can continue to nibble at you in perpetuity as players install and inevitably reinstall games over time. It seems to imply that if I ever upgrade to a new computer and reinstall my favorite games the developers will incur a cost and Unity will obtain revenue for... no real reason?

For gamers, this seem to indicate that all games developed with Unity phone home back to Unity HQ at the very least during the initial install (possibly on every launch?) with information about my machine. I'm not sure how they could conceivably be enforcing this otherwise. It makes me inclined to avoid installing games developed with Unity to avoid sending information about my machine and my gaming habits back to Unity and IronSource. Sorry guys but I don't want my "profile" to be part of your "ad tech" just because I decided to install games I purchased.

Two things which seem concerning with this: the "per install" (as opposed to some percentage of revenue) rubs the wrong way; and that this applies retroactively to games built on Unity even before this was announced.

This post doesn't clarify what happens if someone deletes the game (to save disk space), then installs it again, despite this being the most basic question. They've since clarified that re-installs count, then re-clarified that re-installs don't count. -- I've seen it clarified that pirated copies of the game count towards this installation count. (Which discourages devs from releasing the game DRM-free).

Another incentive is for devs to then focus on in app purchases, since IAPs aren't subject to this Unity fee.

It reminds me of Darth Vader's line: "I have altered the deal. Pray I don't alter it further."

The moment Godot engine has been waiting for.

$0.20 per install, even if your app is free, is insane. Unreal and Godot are serious competitors now. I dont see how Unity thinks this will work.

> even if your app is free

Is that accurate?

I'm looking at the "Runtime Fee Eligibility" section [1] and it looks like you need to have revenue before you start getting charged per install.

For the 'Unity Personal' / 'Unity Plus' it looks like you need $200,000 in revenue over the past 12 months AND at least 200,000 installs over the lifetime of the game. If you don't meet both those criteria then I don't think you pay the per-install fee.

Am I reading this right, or am I missing something?

[1] https://unity.com/runtime-fee#unity-runtime-fee-eligibility-...

This is an edge case, but free (or almost free) games are given away on Humble Bundle. Some people may also believe that the game has earned its money, so they do not want to charge for it. A fee will be charged in such a case because the game once brought a profit. Some classics today are even open-source.

So this raises a good question, does this essentially end the inclusion of all Unity games in Humble Bundle and Choice? These programs result in a ton of installs for very little revenue per install going back to the dev.

A real common thing is for a game studio to release a new installment in a popular franchise, and then make the previous installment(s) available through a Humble promotion to advertise it. This is a great model, gamers get cheap and good games, the studio gets more exposure for its franchise that leads to full price purchases in the future. (Worked on me with Divinity Original Sin and some others)

It feels like Unity has just killed off this model. Screw them, I now hope Unity goes out of business ASAP.

Until they change the agreement again!

It’s only after you start making at least $200,000 a year and 200k installs:

> We set high revenue and game install thresholds to avoid impacting those who have yet to find scale, meaning they don’t need to pay the fee until they have reached significant success.

> Only games that meet the following thresholds qualify for the Unity Runtime Fee:

> Unity Personal and Unity Plus: Those that have made $200,000 USD or more in the last 12 months AND have at least 200,000 lifetime game installs.

I know you can get a rough estimate through the marketplace apps, but as a non game-dev, are you signing the rights of discovery on your company financials at any time? If you’re on the threshold, how do they determine to start charging or not unless they have access to your books?

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