Unity has announced that the company’s CEO, president, chairman and member of the board of directors, John Riccitiello, is stepping down from his roles. The announcement comes in the wake of quite a bit of controversy courted by the company with its runtime fees announcement.
Terraria developer donates to open source engines in wake of Unity policy changes
20.09.2023 - 09:53 / eurogamer.net
Terraria developer Re-Logic is donating $100k to two open source engines in the wake of Unity's recent policy changes.
Re-Logic does not even use Unity, but in a statement via X (formerly Twitter) the developer said it felt it «cannot sit idly by as these predatory moves are made against studios everywhere».
Godot and FNA will receive $100k each, and Re-Logic will also continue sponsoring both with a further $1k per month. «All we ask in return is that they remain good people and keep doing all that they can to make these engines powerful and approachable for developers everywhere,» said Re-Logic.
In the full statement, the developer condemned Unity and the «darker forces that negatively impact so much of the gaming industry».
«We unequivocally condemn and reject the recent TOS/fee changes proposed by Unity and the underhanded way they were rolled out,» the statement reads.
«The flippant manner with which years of trust cultivated by Unity were cast aside for yet another way to squeeze publishers, studios, and gamers is the saddest past. That this move was wholly unnecessary pushes things into the tragedy category — a cautionary tale the industry will not soon forget.
»We do not feel that a simple public statement is sufficient," it continues, stating the developer will «get behind some of the other up-and-coming open source game engines. Lighting some candles in an otherwise dark moment».
pic.twitter.com/ZqzGMTui0f
The controversial changes to Unity's business model include charging a monthly fee each time a user installs a developer's game, as well as quietly altering its Terms of Service.
Yesterday it was reported Unity is considering a cap on these fees, but it has not backed down on introducing the changes.
The outcry from the gaming community has been hugely negative. Now, over 500 developers have signed a collective letter to turn off IronSource SDK and Unity Ads monetisation «until new conditions are reviewed», reports GamesIndustry.biz.
«We urge others who share this stance to do the same. The rules have changed, and the stakes are simply too high. The Runtime Fee is an unacceptable shift in our partnership with Unity that needs to be immediately cancelled,» reads the letter.
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