"We were practically at war with our customers" — Unity CEO on the controversy surrounding the engine's pricing policy
In 2023, Unity found itself at the center of a monetization scandal involving its engine: it introduced a Runtime Fee for game installations, which developers strongly disliked. In an interview with The Verge, the company's CEO, Matthew Bromberg, stated that Unity's actions at the time triggered a genuine war between the company and its clients.
"People boycotted us. They were very unhappy with our pricing policy and how we communicated with them. And we couldn't develop a business where [we had to confront] clients. It was madness," said Bromberg.
Bromberg reminded that Unity announced the Runtime Fee before he joined the company — this occurred under his predecessor John Riccitiello. According to Bromberg, when he agreed to become the head of Unity, he already "absolutely knew" he would cancel the controversial innovations. However, doing so quickly wasn't possible. It took several months to sort out all the details.
During those months, Bromberg regularly held negotiations with various Unity clients, during which he discussed ideas for changing the engine's pricing policy. He wanted to be sure that he truly listened to the developers and that they understood him as well. Ultimately, he managed to restore trusting relationships with the clients.
"I consider Unity a product company, and I'm convinced that our products should bring value to clients. In that case, they will be willing to pay for them. The Runtime Fee aligned with a different business model. We were thinking about dynamics and how to make people do this instead of that. If we change one thing, they will be forced to agree to another. It had nothing to do with creating a valuable product. It's a gimmick. It's a business trick. It's a hack. I do not believe in it," Bromberg added.
The Runtime Fee was finally canceled in September 2024 — a year after its announcement.