Having read the room, Unity goes back to drawing board on runtime fee policy

Hell hath no fury like a developer scorned, and Unity is finding out the hard way after poorly received adjustments to its runtime policy last week.

Sister publication DevClass reported on the fees the game engine company said it would be charging developers from January 1 if they exceed certain thresholds for revenue and installs. The argument was that every game built on the engine also installs the Unity runtime to make the product work on a user's device.

But because the company had never monetized its operations this way previously, instead charging a flat fee per seat for different licenses rather than taking royalties on game installs, many devs were incensed.

Unity is a popular tool among solo games developers and small teams precisely because of this model, yet the company's announcement has only served to destroy the trust its customers once had.

Garry Newman, creator of ...