Unity Pricing and Plan Changes

Unity Technologies recently announced a significant revamp of its pricing and service plans, introducing a Unity Runtime fee effective January 1st. This fee, a departure from traditional revenue sharing models, affects all Unity titles, even those previously launched.

Unity's latest strategy involves a Runtime fee per installation for games exceeding certain financial and installation thresholds. This approach aims to let creators maintain a larger share of their games' financial success, sidestepping the conventional revenue share model.

The fee applies under distinct conditions: for Unity Personal and Plus users, it's triggered by $200,000 in revenue over the past 12 months and 200,000 lifetime installs. For Unity Pro and Enterprise users, these thresholds increase to $1,000,000 in revenue and 1,000,000 lifetime installs.

Unity suggests several methods for tracking game installs, including analytics, app store data, developer self-reporting, and a possible direct reporting mechanism to Unity. This tracking strategy has raised concerns about potential complications due to its lack of specificity.

In addition to the runtime fee, Unity is enhancing its Personal plan by removing the $100,000 annual revenue limit for eligibility. Starting in November, the updated plan will offer an improved sign-in and online user experience, requiring an internet connection but allowing offline use for up to 3 days. Unity Personal will now also include free access to Unity Asset Manager, Unity DevOps, Team Administration tools, and Unity Sentis for AI model integration.

Games under the Unity Personal plan will incur the runtime fee if they generate over $200,000 annually and achieve at least 200,000 lifetime installs, ensuring that the fee targets only significantly successful games.

As we delve into these developments, it's clear Unity is realigning its commercial strategies with developer support initiatives. These changes underscore the dynamic nature of game development, urging developers to remain abreast of evolving trends and practices.

First published September 13, 2023 and last updated at September 18, 2023