archive.org

Developers of indie puzzle game Orgynizer have claimed that Unity said organisations like Planned Parenthood are “not valid charities” and are instead “political groups.”

In a blog post, the EU-based developer LizardFactory said the plans to charge developers up to $0.20 per install if they reach certain thresholds would cost them “around 30% of the funds we have gathered and already sent to charity.”

As Unity clarified the runtime fee will not apply to charity games, LizardFactory reached out to the company to clarify their game would be exempt from the plan.

However, Unity reportedly said their partners were not “valid charities” and were viewed as “political groups.”

Profits made from the game go directly to non-profit organisation Planned Parenthood and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Michigan.

“We did this to raise money for a good cause, not to line the coffers of greedy scumbags,” the developers wrote in a blog post. “We have been solid Unity fanboys for over ten years, but the trust is scattered all over the floor.”

The developers are considering a move to open-source game engine Godot, “but we will have to recode our entire game because we refuse to give you a dime,” they wrote. “This is a mafia-style shakedown, nothing more, nothing less.”

Today, Unity responded to the ongoing backlash and apologised, acknowledging the “confusion and angst” surrounding the runtime fee policy.

The company has promised that changes to the policy will be shared in “a couple of days.”

archive

Unity, the tech company behind one of the most popular engines for creating video games, is scrambling to clarify how a price increase for its services will work, after its announcement Tuesday morning broadly infuriated the game development community.

Why it matters: The fees, which Unity said are essential for funding development of its tech, left many game makers wondering if having a hit game through Unity would cost them more money than they could make.

• Developers spoke throughout the day of delaying their games to switch to rival Epic Games’ Unreal Engine or other services on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
• But by the evening, Unity exec Marc Whitten was updating Axios on the policies, potentially defusing some concerns raised by game creators.

Details: The new “Runtime Fee” announced Tuesday morning is tied to a player’s installations of a game, an action that previously didn’t cost developers anything.

• With Unity’s new plan, developers who use Unity’s free tier of development services would owe Unity $0.20 per installation once their game hit thresholds of 200,000 downloads and earn $200,000 in revenue.
• Developers paying over $2,000 a year for a Unity Pro plan would have to hit higher thresholds and would be charged with lower fees.
• The newfee system will begin at the start of 2024.

Yes, but: Game developers, rallying on X, began fuming immediately that any game enjoying a spike in installations due to a big sale, inclusion in a charity bundle or even just by being included in a popular subscription service like Microsoft’s Game Pass, would trigger back-breaking Unity fees.

• “Stop it,” development studio Innersloth, makers of the hit Among Us, tweeted Tuesday evening. “This would harm not only us, but fellow game studios of all budgets and sizes…”
• Another studio, Aggro Crab, called on Unity to reverse its plans, saying that it feared that its next game, set for release to the 25 million subscribers on Game Pass, could incur fees that “threaten the stability of our business.”

The intrigue: Unity has scrambled to clarify and in one key case alter what it has said about its policies around the fees.

Zoom in: After initially telling Axios earlier Tuesday that a player installing a game, deleting it and installing it again would result in multiple fees, Unity’sWhitten told Axios that the company would actually only charge for an initial installation. (A spokesperson told Axios that Unity had “regrouped” to discuss the issue.)

• He hoped this would allay fears of “install-bombing,” where an angry user could keep deleting and re-installing a game to rack up fees to punish a developer.
• But an extra fee will be charged if a user installs a game on a second device, say a Steam Deck after installing a game on a PC.

Between the lines: Runtime fees will also not be charged for installations of game demos, Whitten said, unless the demo is part of a download that includes the full game (early access games would be charged for an installation, he noted).

• Games offered for charity or included in charities will be exempt from the fees. Unity will provide a way for developers to inform Unity that their games are being offered that way, Whitten said.
• As for Game Pass and other subscription services, Whitten said that developers like Aggro Crab would not be on the hook, as the fees are charged to distributors, which in the Game Pass example would be Microsoft.
• Runtime fees will also not be charged for installations of game demos, Whitten said, unless the demo is part of a download that includes the full game (early access games would be charged for an installation, he noted).

Of note: Whitten estimates that only about 10% of Unity’s developers will wind up having to pay any fees, given the thresholds games need to hit.

What they’re saying: “Our core point with this is simply to make sure that we have the right value exchange so that we can continue to invest in our fundamental mission to make sure that we can deliver the best tools for people to make great games.”

• "It’s not fun to get a bunch of angry feedback on any particular day. And I think that that is us needing to clarify some of these points.
• “But we’re we’re listening and we will continue to make sure that we deliver the best that we can.”

Go deeper… Unity CEO: Generative AI will make better games, but won’t steal jobs

^archive.org

Square Enix has officially announced a PC version of Final Fantasy 16 is in development, in addition to two pieces of paid DLC.

More details will be shared on Square Enix’s plans for Final Fantasy 16 for PC before the end of the year, it said.

Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida shared the news during a PAX West panel on Saturday, along with news that a significant update has released for the PlayStation 5 version.

“It’s been just over two months since Final Fantasy XVI’s release and we’ve received an enormous amount of feedback from players around the world,” Yoshida said via a pre-recorded video.

“The development team and I have also been watching your videos and streams, paying special attention to what everyone thinks of Final Fantasy XVI. We put our all into creating this game, so it’s a real joy to see so many different reactions.

“And so as an expression of our sincerest gratitude, we are releasing a free update available for download today.”

The full patch notes for the new update can be found embedded below. Yoshida highlighted the fact that it’s added new controller layouts, a weapon skin feature allowing players to change the appearance of Clive’s weapon, and alternate outfits for Clive, Jill, Torgal, Ambrosia and Joshua.

“As I mentioned earlier, we’ve seen so many opinions and reactions from our community of Final Fantasy XVI players,” Yoshida continued. “But one thing that came through particularly strongly was how people wanted to see more of Valisthea’s story and spend more time with her inhabitants.

“To accommodate, the development team has started work on two instalments of paid DLC.

“Finally, while Final Fantasy XVI was released as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, we are aware that many of you have been asking for a PC version. So allow me to take this opportunity to officially announce that development on a PC version is currently underway.

“I hope to be able to give you more information on both the DLC and the PC version before the end of this year, so please stay tuned.”

Final Fantasy 16 was released for PS5 in June, and Square Enix claimed that it would remain exclusive to Sony’s console for at least the remainder of the calendar year.

Prior to the game’s release, Yoshida said he’d like to see a PC version of the game released “eventually”.

“First of all, it is true that Final Fantasy 16 is a six-month limited time exclusive on the PS5 platform,” he told the Japanese PlayStation Blog. “However, it is a completely different story that the PC version will be released in half a year. I will make it clear, but the PC version will not come out in half a year.

“This is because we spent a lot of time and money optimizing the PS5 platform to deliver the best gaming experience. Of course, I would like to release a PC version at some point so that everyone can play as many games as possible.

“However, even if we start optimizing the PC version after the PS5 version comes out, we won’t be able to optimize it in half a year, so it won’t come out in a short span of half a year. I would like to release it eventually, and I think I will, but I am not at the stage where I can say when.”