Okay so, you have probably heard the news that Unity has decided to apply new fees to devs that have to pay the engine every time their games are installed onto a device. Firstly, it isn’t rocket science to see how grossly unfair that is but secondly, this is one of the biggest threats to the indie gaming industry to date!
I’ll be honest. I have felt a little jaded with the Triple A games for a while now as they chase after making games for investors to try and nickel and dime us at every opportunity (looking at you, Blizzard, Ubisoft, EA)
With all this new technology it seems the main companies are playing it safe, especially Ubisoft.
So yeah, I’m kinda over the big names now. They don’t excite me as much as they used to. I still like the games they make but I am not rushing to get the new Assassin’s Creed on day one like before. Instead, I wait for the big games from Triple A studios to go on major sales.
I’ll tell you what I do gobble up though, Indie games! I love them. In fact, my game of the year for 2022 was V Rising, an indie game! While these games are smaller in scope and scale, they have such unique mechanics and charming art styles and it is endearing to see small teams put them together. What most of these games have in common is the fact that they are made with Unity. A game engine that has become the go-to for making indie games.
So you can imagine how the entire gaming community literally shat a brick on Unity after they announced their new running fees for devs which requires them to pay per install of their games, retroactively and in future.
Honestly, what the actual f*ck were they thinking? I know they have recently announced that they will adjust this after the backlash and their stocks tanking but to be honest, the trust has been broken and I can’t imagine any sane person using the engine in future. This whole thing has just been a nightmare, especially for indie devs who make some great games.
Just doing a quick Google search will show you how many games are actually made with the Unity Engine and to think all of these devs are at risk under this new policy…
It’s just greedy corporate ghouls, man. That’s all that it boils down to.
What do you think of this? Do you think Unity will back track? Sound off in the comments below and if you want to rant a bit, be my guest.
