Is Unity allowed to just change its fee structure like that?

This is the best summary I could come up with:

This change led to a firestorm of understandable anger and recrimination across the game development community.

But in an FAQ, the company suggests that games released before 2024 will be liable for a fee on any subsequent installs made after the new rules are in effect.

Now, even developers who paid $1,500 for a "perpetual license" to Unity back then could theoretically be subject to additional per-install fees starting next year (provided their game is still generating sufficient revenue and installs).

Unity has yet to respond to a request for comment from Ars Technica, but a spokesperson outlined the company's legal argument in a forum thread after reportedly "hunt[ing] down a lawyer":

Broadly speaking, the general legal agreements signed by all Unity developers give some support to this position.

At least as far back as 2013, the Unity EULA has included a broad clause that says the company "may modify or terminate the subscription term or other Software license offerings at any time."

The original article contains 420 words, the summary contains 163 words. Saved 61%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

1 comments

This is the best summary I could come up with:
This change led to a firestorm of understandable anger and recrimination across the game development community.
But in an FAQ, the company suggests that games released before 2024 will be liable for a fee on any subsequent installs made after the new rules are in effect.
Now, even developers who paid $1,500 for a "perpetual license" to Unity back then could theoretically be subject to additional per-install fees starting next year (provided their game is still generating sufficient revenue and installs).
Unity has yet to respond to a request for comment from Ars Technica, but a spokesperson outlined the company's legal argument in a forum thread after reportedly "hunt[ing] down a lawyer":
Broadly speaking, the general legal agreements signed by all Unity developers give some support to this position.
At least as far back as 2013, the Unity EULA has included a broad clause that says the company "may modify or terminate the subscription term or other Software license offerings at any time."
The original article contains 420 words, the summary contains 163 words. Saved 61%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!