A year after igniting widespread outrage within the game development community with its controversial “Runtime Fee” pricing scheme, Unity has decided to abandon the initiative entirely. The initial announcement, which had sparked a significant backlash and ultimately led to the resignation of then-CEO John Riccitiello, has now been officially reversed.
“After deep consultation with our community, customers, and partners, we’ve decided to cancel the Runtime Fee for our games customers, effective immediately,” wrote current Unity CEO Matt Bromberg in a public statement today. “Non-gaming industry customers are not impacted by this modification.”
The Runtime Fee, introduced in 2023, proposed that developers would be charged each time a game built with Unity was installed after it crossed specific revenue and install thresholds. The model was seen by many in the industry as a dramatic overreach, leading to concerns about financial burdens, potential abuse, and most notably, a breach of trust. The controversial pricing scheme drew harsh criticism, with Tactical Breach Wizards developer Tom Francis referring to it as “an astonishing scumbag move.”
The uproar stemmed from Unity’s decision to impose the fee unilaterally, leaving developers no choice but to comply with the new terms regardless of their existing agreements. Developers like Dillon Rogers, of Gloomwood fame, echoed a common sentiment: “Even if they reversed this 100%, the damage is done. You cannot trust a partner who will alter the deal after it’s done.”
Unity’s initial response to the outrage included an apology and revisions to the Runtime Fee structure, but the damage was already significant. The fiasco culminated in Riccitiello stepping down as CEO, followed by a round of layoffs impacting roughly 1,800 employees as part of what Unity described as a “company reset.” Though the layoffs were not directly tied to the Runtime Fee controversy, the timing added to the perception that the company was struggling to regain control.
Looking ahead, Bromberg emphasized a return to a more traditional approach. “I’ve heard time and time again that you want a strong Unity and understand that price increases are a necessary part of what enables us to invest in moving gaming forward. But those increases needn’t come in a novel and controversial new form,” he said, assuring developers that future pricing adjustments would follow a more predictable annual cycle. Importantly, users will retain the option to continue using older versions of Unity under existing terms if any future changes are made.
This announcement marks the end of Unity’s experiment with the Runtime Fee, but it remains to be seen whether the company can fully restore its fractured relationship with the development community. The trust lost during this episode may take much longer to rebuild than the policy itself.
