What to Expect After the New Unity Pricing Model? The Future of Game Development
What will Unity’s new pricing policy change? What does this mean for hyper-casual games? It will impact game publishers worldwide. So, let’s talk about the changing landscape of game development. What should you be prepared for? And what are the predictions of HitBerry Games for the near future of game development?
Unity’s pig in a poke
Recently, Unity, one of the cornerstones of the industry, implemented a new pricing model that sent shockwaves throughout the community. This change has left many developers pondering their options and considering alternatives like Unreal and Godot Engine.
- On September 12, Unity announced that starting January 1, 2024, it would change its business model and begin charging developers for each installation of their games on its engine. The company even clarified that deleting and reinstalling the game on the player’s side will result in a repeated fee.
- The new Unity Pricing Model has been widely criticized by developers, as for many it means a significant increase in fees without any additional benefits to using Unity.
- In addition to the anger of developers, Unity is now experiencing difficulties within its own company. As reported by a former employee of Unity Technologies Inc. Jono Forbes, many of his colleagues were initially negatively opposed to this measure.
The surge of criticism quickly caught the attention of regular gamers. Fans began creating numerous provocative memes, mocking the engine developers’ decision.
One way or another, now we have to reckon with Unity’s new policy. To ascertain whether the Unity Runtime Fee applies to your game, two primary criteria must be met:
- Revenue Threshold: Your game must have generated $1,000,000 USD or more in revenue over the past 12 months.
- Install Threshold: Your game should have achieved a minimum of 1,000,000 lifetime installations per game.
If your game fulfills both of these criteria, you will be subject to the Unity Runtime Fee.
Shaking Up the Hypercasual Game Market
Almost 90% of simple projects start writing on Unity, because Unreal is more complex, and developers are more expensive. Hyper-casual games are no exception. Thus, Unity’s fresh pricing approach impacted the hypercasual game market as well.
For newcomers in the game development arena, Unity’s new costs may appear as a formidable barrier. As for the companies that have already invested in Unity, they may respond by raising the prices of their games to compensate for the new fees.
As a result, many small game development companies that once focused on hypercasual games are reevaluating their strategies. Instead of investing time and resources in hypercasual titles, they are looking for alternative game engines and genres to explore.
The Rise of Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine turned out to be the most obvious choice to replace Unity. Let’s look at what positive features it has:
Stunning Graphics: Unreal Engine is renowned for its photorealistic graphics and advanced visual effects. This makes it an ideal choice for developers working on visually impressive projects, such as AAA games and virtual reality experiences.
Real-time Ray Tracing: Unreal Engine’s support for real-time ray tracing enhances the quality of lighting, shadows, and reflections in games, creating a more immersive gaming experience.
Artists’ Choice: Many developers like to use Unity, but many artists prefer Unreal. Unreal is usually better at stunning visuals and is famous for being the choice of well-known studios.
Unity is not a panacea now, there are many projects that are being done on Unreal. For example, a lot of great games on Unreal are planning their releases (The Witcher 4, The Matrix Awakens, Fortnite: Chapter 4, etc.).
Now, the choice is ours. HitBerry Games, as a company that works with different engines, sees a lot of positive aspects in the rise of other engines and will continue to help with the game development both on Unity and on Unreal.
Heap.io for Smaller Projects
So, if our bet with large projects is to switch to Unreal, then smaller projects or indie developers can quite likely switch to heap.io. And there are as many reasons for this as there are features on the platform:
No Coding Required: Heap.io offers a visual development interface, allowing users to create games without writing a single line of code. This accessibility makes it an excellent choice for beginners and non-programmers.
Collaborative Development: Heap.io facilitates collaborative game development, enabling multiple team members to work together on a project simultaneously, streamlining the development process.
Web-Based Platform: Being web-based means that developers can work on their projects from anywhere with an internet connection, promoting flexibility and remote collaboration.
Affordable Pricing: Heap.io offers competitive pricing plans, making it a cost-effective option for indie developers and small studios.
This type of development is not supported by many publishers, but our team also has this service among others.
The Godot Option
Don’t forget about another important part of the gaming world: the Godot Engine. Everything is a little simpler here. Most likely, Godot will follow the path of medium-sized projects and will be the optimal choice for both indie and larger game publishers.
Godot has a lot of advantages you can forget about. Let’s discuss them quickly:
Versatility in 2D and 3D: Godot’s capabilities span across 2D and 3D game development, offering flexibility for creators to explore various genres and styles.
Efficiency and Performance: Its lightweight design and performance optimization tools ensure efficient resource management and smooth gameplay experiences.
Multiplatform Deployment: Godot supports a wide range of platforms, simplifying the process of reaching a broad audience.
The Future of Unity
Despite the shifts in the game development landscape, Unity is unlikely to vanish anytime soon. It will continue to be a popular choice for specific projects where a massive user base is not the primary concern. Unity’s strengths lie in its versatility and ease of use for 2D and 3D projects. The experience of HitBerry Games suggests that it remains a top choice for applications beyond gaming, such as simulations, architectural visualization, and projects for exhibitions and conferences (our personal case among others — the touch-free game for exhibition, Electrified Rush).
What’s the forecast for the gaming world?
Did the new Unity Pricing Model change the gaming industry forever? Yes, probably, it’s true. Does Unity disappear in game development? No, it won’t disappear entirely. More likely, it’ll be used for simulations, visualizations, and other specific apps beyond gaming.
HitBerry Games assumes that the market will now begin to develop with renewed vigor and begin to expand its horizons toward new development paths. We continue to work with Unity and have already seen its advantages in a different range of projects. We also help with development using engines such as Unreal and Godot, as well as the help.io platform for smaller projects.
We can’t predict exactly what will happen next year, but it will definitely be a new era for all gamers and developers. All that remains is to observe and adapt to new realities!
If you’re interested in any sort of game development, you can contact us here.
