Unity proprietary game developers now need a Pro subscription for $1 800 per year
This should mainly affect the developers on the Xbox, since Microsoft, unlike Sony and Nintendo, does not issue special license keys.
- The changes to the rules were reported by the Gamasutra portal with a link to a Unity representative. The new terms came into effect on June 30th and were only reported on the closed Unity forum, so many developers didn’t notice the change.
- According to the rules, now Unity developers of games for closed platforms like Xbox, Switch and PlayStation will need a Pro license for $1,800 a year, or a special license key from the platform holder itself.
- Gamasutra notes that only Sony and Nintendo provide such keys to developers, while Microsoft does not. Therefore, the changes should primarily affect the developers of games for the Xbox.
- A Microsoft spokesman told Gamasutra that the company is aware of the changes, but it is not yet known whether Microsoft plans to somehow change the conditions to facilitate the development of games for its platform.
- Many developers in a comment for Gamasutra admitted that they did not notice the changes, because they have been using a Pro-subscription or a license key from the platform holder for a long time.
- Game creators are only unhappy with the fact that the new rules in Unity were announced in a closed forum, for access to which you need to sign a non-disclosure agreement. For this reason, the rules are likely to hurt mostly novice console developers who were not aware of the changes.
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