A group of developers has decided to take collective action against Unity and its “installation tax.” Until the company backs down from this decision or reevaluates the entire system, they will remove the company’s advertising services from their games, specifically ironSource and Unity Ads. In short, they are trying to hit the company led by John Riccitiello where it hurts the most – in the wallet.
Companies such as Azur Games, Voodoo, Homa, Century Games, SayGames, CrazyLabs, Original Games, Ducky, Burny Games, Inspired Square, Geisha Tokyo, Tatsumaki Games, New Story, Playgendary, and Supercent are participating in the initiative, but others may join them in the coming hours.
The group wrote and signed a very stern letter threatening Unity to block IronSource until January 1, 2024 – the day the Runtime Fee, or installation tax, comes into effect.
“We are the collective voice of developers in the gaming industry,” the letter begins, going on to say: “Developers, game designers, artists, and businessmen. Passionate about our craft, we have invested years in shaping an industry that affects the lives of millions of people around the world. Having a stake in this industry, we cannot stay silent when any decision threatens to destabilize this ecosystem.
Starting on January 1, 2024, Unity plans to introduce an installation fee – a decision made without any consultation with the industry that undermines both small and large game developers. It is not only untrue but blatantly false to claim, as Unity has done, that the new “runtime fee” will only affect 10% of industry representatives. We vigorously oppose this step, which disregards the unique problems and challenges of our industry. While we have always considered our work collaborative, this decision caught us off guard. With a stroke of a pen, you put hundreds of studies at risk, all without consultation and dialogue. To put it more plainly, what if car manufacturers suddenly decided to charge for every kilometer driven in a car that you purchased a year ago? The consequences would be devastating for consumers and the industry as a whole. All of this is happening at a time when the industry is already facing difficulties due to declining profit margins, escalating competition, and growing costs both in development and marketing. This affects not only developers but also artists, designers, marketers, and producers. It could lead to the closure of companies that have dedicated themselves to this industry. Unity, we have stood by your side and celebrated each of your innovations. So why were we left out of the discussion regarding such an important decision? As an urgent measure, our collective of game developers is forced to disable monetization of IronSource and Unity Ads in our projects until these changes are reconsidered. We urge anyone who shares this position to do the same. The rules have changed, and the consequences are simply too serious. The installation tax is an unacceptable change in our partnership with Unity that must be immediately repealed. We entered this industry out of love for game development, but what truly makes it special is the community built on openness, shared experiences, and collective progress. If you share our views, we invite you to join us. Disable all monetization of IronSource and Unity Ads until a fair solution is found.
Source from www.playground.ru rnrn