Andi

[John C. McGinley @JohnCMcGinley]

…getting the band back together!

[Andi @Cloneandy]

@voicemod 👀

[Andi @Cloneandy]

@Raisslin Which song is it? Always need stuff to blast when driving

[quik 🎮🪫 @realquicc]

A Recap of Unity's Insane New Pricing and Their Attempts at Backtracking it #UnityEngine #Unity

And some stuff I want to provide more context on to make it easier to understand the impact of this change.

@unity published this blog post about their new pricing changes on September 12, then updated it on September 13 after the massive backlash they received
https://t.co/ov9Oze0RFQ

Thresholds and Rates of this new pricing model:

Later that day, @unity posted a tweet to clarify basically nothing and justify it by saying that it only affects a small group of their customers alongside a FAQ page that lacked the fine details on:

- The definition of an install
- How they will track it
- How it affects various mediums of game distribution such as: Giveaways, Subscription Services (Xbox Gamepass, PS Plus), Charity and Value bundles, Demos, Web Games, Cloud Streaming etc.

This FAQ also getting updated with the new terms after they backtracked on the specific mediums on September 14
https://t.co/0EtVlilz6K

A day after the original blog post, on September 13, @unity wanted to address the "questions and feedback" on their new pricing change with a forum post.

https://t.co/RAODSURev7
https://t.co/pYSkpVYyQh

This forum post also being updated on September 14 to reflect the new terms on specific mediums of game distribution, but I have a screenshot of the original version of this post, so let's compare them!

Original Forum Post, September 13
- @unity will use their own proprietary data model to track the installs and they believe that it gives accurate data on the numbers

- Creator will play for ALL future installs, including reinstalls and multi-device users, and also, potentially, pirated copies as @unity's measures against piracy is a mere starting point.
- The reason for this being the fact that Unity does not receive end-player information, this is important.

- Demos that let players purchase the rest of the game without installing a separate build also count

- WebGL and Streamed games also count, in an even worse way it sounds like, every INITIALIZATION of the game counts, so is that basically every time you play a WebGL game and cloud stream a Unity based game?

- The fee itself isn't exactly retroactive, but Unity still includes the games that are currently on the market to be a part of this new change, the developers of said games won't be charged for the install counts prior to January 1st 2024, but it still means that a game from 2015 that meets both thresholds getting new installs after 2024 will basically charge the developer. The developer who obviously did not sign up for this.

Updated Forum Post, September 14
This update comes with its own tweet as well! Because Unity wanted to address the "confusion and frustration" this time. The tweet contains pretty much the same details as the forum post, but I'll link it anyway
https://t.co/gfZFvCw1bL

- Unity will NOT be charging for reinstalls and claim that "the spirit of this program is and has always been to charge for the first install"

That raises a question, didn't they say that the reason they need to charge for every install including reinstalls and multi-device users is because they don't receive end-player information? So, did the tracking change, or was that just an excuse from the start?

Also, how has the spirit of this program always been to charge for the first install? Do they think we just forgot the previous statement? In ONE DAY?

- Unity will still count the installs on different devices as different installs

But isn't that a repeated install? Didn't Unity just say that they want and have always wanted to charge only for the first install? How capable is their tracking at this point?

- Charity bundles are excluded from the Runtime Fee

No word on value bundles, nor how they're able to tell whether the game's copy was obtained from charity or paid, like, what?

- Unity is "creating solutions" to combat pirated copies and tracking of such copies' installation

So, they just pulled this off with absolutely no idea how to combat bad actors?

In their tweet, they said that they'll work closely with the developers on each case, now that just means they're either hiring a mad amount of people to handle this or that they're just going to have you talk to AI and not resolve anything in the end.

- Now the Runtime Fee does not apply to WebGL games

The answer doesn't include cloud streaming for some reason while the previous version of the answer clearly separated them

- For subscription services, the developer is not responsible for the fee

So, Unity's just going to bundle trackers into the games that are and will be on Xbox Gamepass and PlayStation Plus to track the installs AND invoice Microsoft and Sony an amount they calculate?

What if this leads to Microsoft and Sony avoiding games made with Unity? Or adjust their agreements with the developers of these games to reflect this fee to them?

- Fees WILL apply to the games that are already on the market, charges won't, until after 2024

So, it is pretty much the case that a game published in 2015 that meets both thresholds will be getting an invoice from Unity for installs made after 2024, and that includes an insane amount of games.

This is simply Unity abusing their dominance on the market, especially on mobile, the platform that's most likely to generate the most amount of installs for your game, and by proxy due to this pricing change, force you to monetize it more aggressively.

- The revenue calculated towards the threshold is gross revenue

So, it's the amount your game makes, before any platform fees and expenses, in short, you will hit the threshold before you actually make $200K, or $1M if you're on Unity Pro/Enterprise

Which is funny, because this change as a whole is just to force more and more people to switch to Pro/Enterprise tiers, call it the "protection fee" - pay good guy Unity a big amount so they won't screw you over even worse.

- This change, apparently, based on INTERNAL data, only affects the 10% of Unity's customers!

And that neither means anything nor makes it any better, in fact, it's just a ridiculous argument to justify this shitshow.

So, what does this all mean? Why is Unity doing this? What potential reason is there to justify this in the slightest?

To me, this is just Unity abusing their current spot in the market, basically blackmailing every developer that currently has a monetized Unity game on the market and developers who are too far into development of their current projects to switch engines without suffering insane losses, into upgrading to higher subscription tiers, Pro/Enterprise

Now, if you're an indie dev studio with, let's say, 3 people who needs a seat in Unity to work:

- If you want to be charged less Runtime Fee in the future, you need to upgrade your subscription to Pro or Enterprise

Which will run you around $2K per seat for Pro, $3K per seat for Enterprise

That's $6K for 3 people for Pro and $9K for Enterprise per year in this scenario

- If you can't afford to upgrade to these tiers

You are subject to the flat rate of $0.20 per install, while the higher tier subscriptions' rates go down with each install milestone

You are "kindly encouraged" to upgrade. Because that $0.20 scales infinitely, the more successful your game is, the more money Unity wants to take from your success

At a larger scale though, Unity with it's roughly 30% market share on the mobile platform, is again, blackmailing every developer, who can't make the switch to other engines, into monetizing their games even more aggressively to profit somehow.

This whole change is absolutely delusional, obviously not thought out well, but maybe very intentional. As a certain somebody from Unity reportedly sold some stocks a week before this announcement.

Unity, despite the conclusion on this change in the future, cannot be trusted. This is an insane betrayal to the very people who put Unity on the map and contributed to their market share with a pathetic 3.5 months of prior notice.

I've seen arguments about defending this change, because "the thresholds seem high enough"

You need to understand that, developers and studios strive to find success and embark on bigger projects, the very goal is to reach those thresholds in the first place, Unity does not get to tax the people who made the games, when they're just providing the platform and even charging for it on a subscription model already.

And no, changing the engine isn't as easy as some seem to think.

Thanks for reading, I just wanted to express my concerns and point out some perspectives and potential outcomes of this change as someone who loves games and respects every developer that commits their time and efforts into creating amazing experiences.

I hope it helps to explain the context further and allow you to think from multiple perspectives to have a better understanding of the potential impact.

This is a change so bizarre and unclear that it is just incomprehensible. I really doubt Unity has a plan, it seems like they're just patching every bleeding point with excuses, insane justifications and absolutely no clarity and trustworthiness whatsoever.

[Andi @Cloneandy]

@Raisslin @PlayStreamBeats @HarrisHeller @OfficialRezz @OVERWERK It's all over the place, I doubt you'll find something for yourself
Top genres are EDM, Videogame soundtracks, rock, alt metal and pop

[Andi @Cloneandy]

@Raisslin @PlayStreamBeats @HarrisHeller @OfficialRezz @OVERWERK It's basically always playing at work

[Andi @Cloneandy]

@Cooleye_rettiwt @Ryakishou https://t.co/vZ3rifp3f7

[Andi @Cloneandy]

@summergamefest Elden Ring and Beyond Good & Evil 2

[Andi @Cloneandy]

@Raisslin 🤞

[Sweet Anita @sweetanita]

It's up. If you have ever had stalking affect your lives, or if you think things should be safer for the content creators we all know and love. Please take part. Our lives should not be on the line just to make content. #stopstalking https://t.co/t3jFAn6GZ0

[Andi @Cloneandy]

@Raisslin 10, always!

[Raisslin @Raisslin]

.@MortalShellGame embargo for early access goes down in less than an hour... Let's chat until then!

🔴 https://t.co/V0EhBpFXsi

[Rocket Beans TV @TheRocketBeans]

Dear @FallGuysGame team,

is there any chance to get our Rocket Bean into your wonderful game? Look how cute he is. How many guys do we have to push into the dark, endless abyss?

[Andi @Cloneandy]

@Chaya_Lee achso, also nur Tweets mit denen du die Leute die nur deinen Stream schauen nicht nerven willst, oder?

[Andi @Cloneandy]

@Chaya_Lee hey, ja Ich wollte folgen, aber als ich gesehen habe das der Follow bestätigt werden muss, dachte ich es ist dein privater Acc :)