A growing number of companies and developers in the gaming community have initiated a protest against Unity, a popular game development engine, by disabling ads and monetization features. This protest is a result of Unity’s proposed Runtime Fee policy, which has caused controversy and dissatisfaction among game developers.
To demonstrate their opposition to the policy, 16 studios announced last week that they would completely cut off all Unity-based monetization. In addition, more than 503 developers have signed a collective letter expressing their discontent and vowing to disable IronSource SDK and Unity Ads monetization until the proposed changes are reviewed.
Several notable studios have joined the protest, including Tap Nation, People Fun, Magic Tavern, Lion Studios, Belka Games, Machine Zone, Clipwire, and Mindstorm Studios. This united front highlights the urgency of the situation, as the game development companies feel they have no choice but to disable monetization until Unity reconsiders the policy.
The collective letter encourages other developers who share the same concerns to take similar action. This display of solidarity demonstrates the widespread dissatisfaction within the gaming community regarding Unity’s proposed changes.
In response to the backlash, Unity executives have acknowledged the concerns and are planning revisions to the proposed plan. These revisions, as reported by Bloomberg, include instituting a maximum fee cap of 4% on games’ revenue over $1 million, implementing a non-retroactive installation threshold, and establishing a self-reporting system for users to report install numbers.
Unity has acknowledged the confusion and discontent caused by the proposed changes and issued an apology. They have stated their commitment to sharing the revised policy within the next couple of days.
This growing protest against Unity’s Runtime Fee policy highlights the importance of transparency and collaboration between game developers and development engines. As the gaming community eagerly awaits the revised policy, it remains to be seen whether Unity’s proposed changes will be sufficient to appease the dissenting voices within the industry.
“Zombie enthusiast. Subtly charming travel practitioner. Webaholic. Internet expert.”