Note from CEO: NeverMore Niche is committed to supporting indie developers, regardless of the engine they use. We recognize that not all studios can afford to move away from Unity, due to project deadlines or invested cost. We also understand that others will switch to another engine because of moral obligations. We are not here to choose sides, but rather be part of your support system.

The indie development community experienced one heck of a rollercoaster ride this week, thanks to game engine developer Unity Software. On September 12, 2023, Unity announced a whole slew of changes to their pricing models. Not only were the terms confusing, but they seemed to be aimed at taking out small developers at the knees.

What followed was days of questions, worry, anger, and a good amount of panic. Realizing they may not be able to finish current projects under the proposed changes or would have to switch to a whole new engine, the community rose as one, demanding answers. Unfortunately, what they got appeared to be empty platitudes.

More bad news

Then news broke that the president and CEO of Unity, John Riccitiello, and other board members had sold off a hefty amount of the company’s shares just days before the drastic changes to their fees. Overall, according to Yahoo! Financial, Riccitiello has sold off over 50,000 shares in the last year and bought none.

The backlash was immediate and severe. While Unity tried to soothe gamers and developers alike, many developers, both large and small, withdrew their support for the engine. BLOODIOUS GAMES, developer of the hit horror game MADiSON, responded on Unity’s original X thread that they have had nothing but problems releasing their game on Unity. Even Geoff Knightly called out the software company for its determination to burn all bridges.

New contenders emerge

As a result, support shifted to lesser-known engines. Godot and GameMaker have come out as overall winners, with donations pouring into both companies to bolster their software and continued development. Both engines are not quite capable of the same 3D development Unity provides. However, they are committed to continuing improvement and have very loyal and knowledgeable communities willing to help any developers moving away from Unity. Additionally, Unreal Engine, from Epic Games, reassured developers that despite being the frontrunner competitor of Unity, it would not be going down the same path.

On September 17, nearly a week after the initial announcement, Unity posted a statement, saying “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 days. Thank you for your honest and critical feedback.” Speculation circulated as to whether they would walk back the policies or double down.

Broken silence, but more questions

Finally, Friday, September 22, they broke their silence with a letter to the community. Written by Unity Creates lead Marc Whitten, the company apologized again for the issues they had caused and acknowledged they should have listened to more of the feedback from their users and community, a statement that raised a few eyebrows as many who were aware of the company’s plans had repeatedly told the higher ups what their policy changes would result in.

Aside from their apology, they outline new terms that look like an almost full walk back of the problematic pricing models. They followed it up with a “fireside chat” on their YouTube channel to address individual concerns.

Path to healing?

Will this be enough to stem the tide of anger and distrust from the gaming community? Some developers have voiced their cautious optimism. However, others feel that the damage is done, and that Unity demonstrated its priorities- money over developers. ION LANDS, the developer of upcoming cyberpunk Nivalis summed it up this way in a post: “Unfortunately no trust from me, no. I’ll continue and watch for sure. But before development on future projects starts, we’ll have to consider our options. Fortunately, this change will not affect our current project.”