Unity cancels Runtime Fee to get back to its mission of "democratizing game development"

Unity has suddenly decided to completely abandon its controversial Runtime Fee policy. However, the company will raise prices for some of its subscription plans.

Matthew Bromberg, president and CEO of Unity Technologies, shared the news on the company’s blog. Although the Runtime Fee will be canceled for all game development customers, the policy will still be applied to Industry clients (automotive, architecture, manufacturing, government, and other areas).

As a result, the company will go back to its subscription model, which will see both positive and negative changes. Here are the main details:

• Unity Personal will not only remain free, but will also apply to all developers with an annual revenue or funding of $200k (the previous threshold was $100k);
• The “Made with Unity” splash screen will become optional for Unity Personal games made with Unity 6;
• Unity Pro (for customers with over $200k in annual revenue) pricing will increase by 8% to $2,200 a year per seat;
• Unity Enterprise (for customers with over $25 million in annual revenue) will be increased by 25%, with the end price remaining custom.

Bromberg noted that by canceling the Runtime Fee, Unity is returning to its core mission of “democratizing game development.” The company acknowledged that last year’s changes were controversial and shouldn’t have been introduced that way.

“I’ve been able to connect with many of you over the last three months, and I’ve heard time and time again that you want a strong Unity, and understand that price increases are a necessary part of what enables us to invest in moving gaming forward,” he said. “But those increases needn’t come in a novel and controversial new form.”

Unity plans to build a partnership with its customers based on trust so that developers continue to use its products in the long term.

Bromberg became CEO of Unity in May, six months after the resignation of John Riccitiello. His 20+ year career in the industry includes roles such as president of esports organization Major League Gaming, general manager of BioWare, and COO at Zynga.