Unity is introducing some notable changes to its pricing and service offerings, slated to take effect on January 1, 2024. The new Unity Runtime Fee will be based on the number of game installs at the heart of these changes. This fee will apply every time an end user downloads a qualifying game. Unity believes this initial install-based fee allows creators to retain the financial benefits of ongoing player engagement, unlike a model based on revenue sharing. The company clarifies that the fee refers explicitly to the Unity Runtime, part of the Unity Engine that enables games to run on different devices. Additionally, these changes are not going to be not retroactive or perpetual. Instead, all fees will start counting on January 1, 2024. The fee will apply once for each new install and not an ongoing perpetual license royalty, like revenue share.

However, the new Unity Runtime Fee comes with specific thresholds for revenue and installs, designed to ensure that smaller creators are not adversely affected. For Unity Personal and Unity Plus, the fee applies only to games that have generated $200,000 or more in the last 12 months and have a minimum of 200,000 lifetime installs. For Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise, the fee kicks in for games that have made $1,000,000 or more in the last 12 months and have at least 1,000,000 lifetime installs. The table below shows which Unity accounts pay what fees, with costs ranging from $0.2 per install after the first 200,000 installs. After one million installs, each new install starts at $0.15 and $0.125 for Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise, respectively. As the game gains traction, install fees decay, as shown in the table below.Update 15:36 UTC: Unity issued a statement on company's Twitter/X account that promises changes in the couple of days.

We have heard you. We apologize for the confusion and angst the runtime fee policy we announced on Tuesday caused. We are listening, talking to our team members, community, customers, and partners, and will be making changes to the policy. We will share an update in a couple of days. Thank you for your honest and critical feedback.