29 votes

Unity publishes new FAQ implying digital store owners such as Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo will pay its new fees on behalf of developers

Posted by Shahriar
Tags: unity, developers.video game, nintendo, sony, playstation, author.muhammad ali bari, source.twistedvoxel
https://twistedvoxel.com/unity-playstation-xbox-nintendo-pay-on-behalf-of-devs/

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Title
Unity Claims PlayStation, Xbox & Nintendo Will Pay Its New Runtime Fee On Behalf Of Devs - TwistedVoxel
Authors
Muhammad Ali Bari
Published
Sep 14 2023
Word count
404 words

8 comments

  1. [2]
    DawnPaladin
    Link
    I gotta wonder how they plan to collect this money. If I'm Valve, Itch.io, or Microsoft, and Unity bills me for distributing games, I'm gonna say "I'm sorry, who are you? There's no contract...

    I gotta wonder how they plan to collect this money. If I'm Valve, Itch.io, or Microsoft, and Unity bills me for distributing games, I'm gonna say "I'm sorry, who are you? There's no contract between us. Go pound sand."

    Unity has leverage over developers, because it can cut off their access to the game engine. Unity doesn't have leverage over distributors, as far as I know.

    26 votes
    1. knocklessmonster
      Link Parent
      My hope is this is a stumble that hands the ball to organizations with large legal teams and the resources to quickly organize to fight it.

      My hope is this is a stumble that hands the ball to organizations with large legal teams and the resources to quickly organize to fight it.

      12 votes
  2. [5]
    zoroa
    Link
    The author may be making a leap over a gap of ambiguity. The article is based on this FAQ that says: That language is exceedingly vague, and doesn't make clear what they mean by "distribute" (or...

    The author may be making a leap over a gap of ambiguity.

    The article is based on this FAQ that says:

    Who is charged the Unity Runtime Fee?

    The Unity Runtime Fee will be charged to the entity that distributes the runtime.

    That language is exceedingly vague, and doesn't make clear what they mean by "distribute" (or even "entity" for that matter).

    Does distribute mean:

    • "To make available for sale"? Then that could implicate the Developer/Publisher, or the owner of the store the game is on (Playstation, Nintendo, Xbox, Valve, Epic Games, Itch Corp (itch.io), IGN (Humble Bundle), etc...).
    • "To make available for download"? Then that would implicate everyone in the prior group, any of the companies that provide infrastructure to make that download possible (CDN, etc...), or maybe even regular ol' gamers who are seeding pirated version of the game.

    I'm being somewhat hyperbolic. But FAQ doesn't appear to me to be as definitive as the title suggests, and honestly just raises more questions than it answers.

    25 votes
    1. [3]
      akaval
      Link Parent
      In an article from Axios, they quote a person at Unity who said this: Source

      In an article from Axios, they quote a person at Unity who said this:

      Whitten said that developers like Aggro Crab would not be on the hook, as the fees are charged to distributors, which in the Game Pass example would be Microsoft.

      Source

      8 votes
      1. [2]
        zoroa
        Link Parent
        This makes me really wish I knew someone with expertise in law. What little I know about contract law would suggest that a Microsoft, Playstation, Nintendo, etc... wouldn't be on the hook for...

        This makes me really wish I knew someone with expertise in law.

        What little I know about contract law would suggest that a Microsoft, Playstation, Nintendo, etc... wouldn't be on the hook for anything since they aren't a party to whatever agreement exists between Unity and the developers/publishers.

        Unity certainly has some leverage that could use to compel platform holders to enter into a new agreement: Unity's policy change has the potential to dramatically alter the release cadence for games on those platforms. But that feels like it's veering into anti-competitive territory in a way that I'm unable to appreciate the legality of..

        8 votes
        1. RNG
          Link Parent
          Regardless of the law, my bet is that Microsoft won't be paying Unity for Game Pass installs. If there's a world where Unity can actually legally charge Microsoft for Unity titles per install,...

          Regardless of the law, my bet is that Microsoft won't be paying Unity for Game Pass installs. If there's a world where Unity can actually legally charge Microsoft for Unity titles per install, then Microsoft will most likely either completely remove Unity titles from Game Pass or will ensure that future contracts with Unity developers/publishers obligate them to pay for Unity licensing.

          9 votes
    2. Promonk
      Link Parent
      You might want to take a look at the actual piece instead of just the title, as the author specifically addresses the fact that their terms are vague.

      You might want to take a look at the actual piece instead of just the title, as the author specifically addresses the fact that their terms are vague.

      2 votes
  3. blindmikey
    Link
    What an ill-thought out shit show.

    What an ill-thought out shit show.

    4 votes