Terraria developer Re-Logic, along with 500 other developers, have taken a stand against Unity Technologies, over their recent controversial policy changes. Read on to learn more about Terraria’s statement and the details surrounding the protest.
Game Developers Protest Unity’s Controversial Policies
Terraria's Condemnation of Unity's Policies
Terraria's official Twitter account posted an image with a message that conveyed the team's deep concern and disappointment regarding Unity's recent actions.
Although their games don’t run on Unity, the Terraria team felt compelled to speak out against the "predatory moves" made by Unity. They unequivocally condemned Unity's Terms of Service (TOS) and fee changes, criticizing the manner in which these changes were introduced, which they described as "underhanded."
The statement further lamented the growing distrust within the gaming community, as Unity appears to have prioritized profit over the welfare of game developers and gamers. Terraria's developers emphasized that the industry should remember this as a cautionary tale.
Terraria's Support for Open Source Alternatives
As seen in the tweet, the Terraria team announced their commitment to supporting up-and-coming open source game engines. They pledged a substantial donation of $100,000 each to both GODOT Game Engine and FNA. Additionally, they pledged to shell out $1,000 monthly to help with the game engines’ projects.
This move by Re-Logic is a noble gesture of solidarity with the game development community and a clear message that they stand firmly against Unity's controversial actions.
Unity Faces the Game Mob
Over 500 developers have joined a protest against Unity's proposed Runtime Fee policy. Last week, 16 studios initiated the protest by discontinuing all Unity-based monetization efforts in response to Unity's controversial policy changes.
The collective letter, signed by more than 503 developers and counting, called for the cancellation of all IronSource SDK and Unity Ads monetization "until new conditions are reviewed." Prominent studios such as Tap Nation, People Fun, Magic Tavern, Lion Studios, Belka Games, Machine Zone, Clipwire, Mindstorm Studios, and others have joined the protest.
The letter emphasizes the urgency of the situation, stating, "As a course of immediate action, our collective of game development companies are forced to turn off all IronSource and Unity Ads monetization across our projects until these changes are reconsidered."
Unity Technologies responded to the growing backlash by informing employees of planned revisions to their proposed policy, including a maximum fee cap of 4% of a game's revenue over $1 million, a non-retroactive installation threshold, and a self-reporting system for install numbers, to be revealed in the next few days.
Unity's commitment to revising their policy came after severe backlash from the gaming industry, which goes to show the significant impact developers and studios have against unethical actions in the gaming world.
