Unity’s unpopular install fee will change, after a week of anger

Unity Technologies announced Sunday that it would make some changes to the policy of its install-based fees, which is wildly unpopular. post on the platform formerly known as Twitter. This update was released just days after Unity revealed plans to introduce a new price structure that would charge developers a fee after each install, once revenue thresholds and download thresholds were met.

On Sunday, the company apologized for the “confusion and angst” that its new policy caused. There’s no update just yet, but Unity said that further details are coming in the next “couple of days.” The company said, “We are listening, talking to our team members, community, customers, and partners, and will be making changes to the policy.”

The time may have passed. Unity already showed that it’s willing to make major changes to the terms with which developers signed onto the engine. Many developers want the policy to be reversed.

Game developers have stated that Unity’s new policy will financially ruin studios. They also claim it has broken the trust of the developers who had signed contracts with Unity, expecting the terms to be consistent. Unity has not reversed its policy announcement, and several developers have pledged to change engines if they do. Publishers of mobile games as well as developers also turned off their advertising in protest.

Days after the announcement, Bloomberg reported that Unity had closed several offices in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco over what was described as a “credible death threat.” Unity later confirmed that it closed over a “potential threat.” San Francisco police later said Unity reported that “an employee made a threat towards his employer using social media.”