Unity Apologies For Its ‘Runtime Fee’ Policy, Promises To Make ‘Changes’

Well, that didn’t take long.

It seems the highly vocal reaction from game developers and the community at large has forced Unity’s hand after the company announced plans for its new ‘runtime fee’ policy.

The policy, which would effectively charge developers every time a game utilising the Unity engine is installed (after certain prerequisites), was met with widespread backlash, with many developers stating their intention to move away from the engine for future projects and even removing existing games from storefronts entirely.

Unity has now apologised via an X post, stating it is listening to the feedback and “will be making changes to the policy”.

We have heard you. We apologize for the confusion and angst the runtime fee policy we announced on Tuesday caused. We are listening, talking to our team members, community, customers, and partners, and will be making changes to the policy. We will share an update in a couple of…— Unity (@unity) September 17, 2023

Unity had initially attempted to stem the backlash with a previous post detailing exactly who would be affected by the policy and how it would be implemented. While its latest statement seems a step in the right direction, some are critical of its wording and, in particular, the use of the word “confusion”.

Here’s what Tron: Identity developer Mike Bithell had to say:

I’d really like it if they stopped telling us we’re confused. If anything, the issue is an over abundance of clarity.— Mike Bithell (@mikeBithell) September 17, 2023

Time will tell exactly what changes Unity will make to the policy, but it at least sounds like we won’t be waiting too long to hear, with an update supposedly arriving in “a couple of days”.