For those of you somehow not in the loop, Unity has introduced a new so-called "Runtime Fee" that goes into effect starting in 2024. If you're on the Personal or Plus plan of Unity like most indies, then this is how it works.

If your game earned $200'000 or more in 12 months AND had at least 200,000 lifetime game installs, you would need to pay Unity a fee of $0.20 per install.

Look closely at how it's phrased. Not $0.20 per SALE, but $0.20 per INSTALL.

They have specified that this means "initial install" meaning that multiple installs on the same platform/device and install-bombing are hopefully ignored. And they've mentioned now that developers of standalone demos, downloads from charity bundles like Humble Bundle, and subscription services like Xbox Game Pass are exempt from charges (not the distributors though), which is... an improvement, I guess.

Still... I'm not happy about it.

The reason why I and many other indies chose Unity was because of the flat fee. At worst, you had to pay a license fee to Unity every year per seat, and that's that.

Now, not only do you have to pay the flat fee, BUT you also need to pay Unity a fee for every INSTALL. That costs a LOT of money to those who are required to pay, especially when no one planned for this.

It's not even the fee that makes me angry, really.
First, I don't meet either threshold. And second, I can at least now plan for it economically.

What gets me is the fact that this came out of Thin. Fucking. Air.

We never agreed to this. We were never told until now that this was going to happen. The trust they've built with the community who loved the company because of their flat and relatively kind pricing is now in tatters.

But hey, maybe we should've expected this to happen since Unity, the company, went public in 2020. Seeing how the CEO and the shareholders have treated the engine since then makes me think that they believe that they have to "maximize shareholder value" rather than "do what is best for the company."

Good job, Unity. You broke everyone's trust in you.👏

If you wanna read more about the whole ordeal and what both Unity and other developers have said, The Guardian has a pretty good report about it.