Unity Software Inc., the video-game tool maker, has announced that it is backtracking on its controversial new price hike after facing significant backlash from developers. In a recent all-hands meeting, the company revealed that it is reconsidering certain aspects of the pricing changes, including implementing a cap on potential fees.
Last week, Unity caused an uproar within the gaming community when it unveiled its plans to charge customers for every new installation of their game after a particular threshold. This decision led to widespread protests and boycott threats from several video-game makers who demanded a reversal of the policy.
In response to the outcry, Unity has now proposed a revised plan that would limit fees to 4% of a game's revenue for customers who earn more than $1 million. Additionally, the company stated that the installations counted towards reaching the threshold would not be retroactive, according to a recording of the meeting reviewed by Bloomberg.
One of the most contentious aspects of the initial policy was how Unity intended to track installations of its software. Initially, the company had planned to utilize proprietary tools for this purpose. However, in the meeting, Marc Whitten, a Unity executive, indicated that the company would now rely on users to self-report the data.
During the meeting, Unity CEO John Riccitiello emphasized that the new pricing changes were aimed at generating more revenue from its largest customers and reassured employees that more than 90% of Unity users would not be affected. Nevertheless, numerous employees expressed concerns over the breach of trust caused by the initial announcement and questioned how the company would recover from this setback.
While acknowledging that the situation could have been handled better, Riccitiello mentioned that the price hike represented a significant transformation for Unity's business model. He emphasized the need for the company to "show, not tell" in order to regain user trust and highlighted the importance of carefully managing future communications.
Unity has not officially announced these latest changes yet, as executives are still in the process of discussing them with partners. They aim to prevent a repeat of the miscommunication and confusion that occurred during last week's announcement.
Overall, the decision to revise the pricing policy demonstrates Unity Software's willingness to listen to the concerns of its user base and make adjustments accordingly. It remains to be seen how these changes will be received by developers and if they will be enough to satisfy critics and restore confidence in the company.