Unity said in a comment to Axios last night that developers would have to pay a fee for each app installation – if a player downloads the same game twice, it would count as two installations. After widespread criticism among developers, it has changed its stance on the issue.

Unity has issued a new comment to Axios, in which it stated that:

  • Only the initial download will be considered an installation (but at the time of writing the news, the FAQ on the engine’s own website has not been updated and there is no information about this there);
  • Installation on each new device will remain a levied installation. That is, if a player downloaded a purchased game on a PC and then on another PC or Steam Deck from their own Steam profile, those are three different downloads;
  • The situation will not affect the installation of demos, but if the demo is part of a download that includes the full game (or if it’s early access, for example), then it will be recorded as an installation;
  • The developer will not pay the fee if the game is distributed by subscription. Instead, it will have to be paid by the platform. For example, from every download of a game from Game Pass, money Unity would have to transfer to Microsoft;
  • Games distributed on a charitable basis will not be subject to the new fee;
  • Unity is confident that the additional fee will affect only 10% of developers.

 104