Unity, one of the world’s most renowned game development engines, has recently found itself embroiled in a controversy related to fees, leading many game developers to consider switching engines even midway through their projects.
According to reports, Unity recently announced that starting from January 1, 2024, it will impose installation fees on games. This means that after a game is published, Unity will charge developers based on how many times the game is installed.
This also implies that not only Unity will generate revenue based on developers’ income, but will directly charge based on the number of times the game is installed by players. According to the data provided by Unity, they will charge a maximum of 20 cents per installation.
As per Unity’s interpretation, if a user deletes the game and then reinstall it, the installation fee will be calculated twice, but it will not be borne by the player; instead, it will be the responsibility of the game developer to pay.
This move has left many game developers feeling very frustrated. One game development company named Mega Crit, for instance, stated that although they have been developing a game for two years, they have decided to abandon Unity as a result of the exorbitant fee changes and will switch to other game engines.
Currently, some internet users are suggesting that if they can charge 20 cents for each installation, could they write a script to automatically install and then uninstall games, indirectly causing financial distress to a game company through malicious installations and deletions?
It’s worth mentioning that mobile games like “Genshin Impact,” “Among Us,” “Fall Guys,” and others are all developed using the Unity game engine. So, to bankrupt MIHOYO, could one simply install “Genshin Impact” and then immediately uninstall it repeatedly?
As for these criticisms, Unity has not yet issued any official statements.
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