Unity made the most controversial news of the week by revealing its plans to charge developers for every copy sold or installed. The developer community was so discontented that many studios will take strong measures to turn their backs on Unity, and some may cease to exist altogether.
Shortly after the controversial announcement, indie studios, in particular, took to social media to let their followers know they disagreed with Unity's move and how it would affect users.
Cult of the Lamb Will Cease to Exist Because of Unity
The case that garnered the most attention was that of the developer Massive Monster, creator of the hit game Cult of the Lamb, as they invited players to purchase the indie game before 2024 because they will stop selling it starting next January when Unity's new policy takes effect.
"Buy Cult of the Lamb now because we're deleting it on January 1st, 2024," warned Massive Monster on their official Twitter account (X).
"Our team specializes in Unity games. (...) We have future projects in development that were initially planned to be developed in Unity. This change would result in significant delays as our team would need to acquire new skill sets," Massive Monster stated in an official statement, not only condemning Unity's controversial move but also depicting a Cult of the Lamb character excreting feces with Unity's name.
Stop the stink @unity pic.twitter.com/ijme9wQ89m
— Massive Monster 🙏🐑 (@MassiveMonster) September 13, 2023
Indie Studios Are Not Satisfied with Unity's New Policy
Massive Monster wasn't the only studio expressing its dissatisfaction. Many indie developers, like No Brake Games (Human Fall Flat) and Aggro Crab (Another Crab's Treasure), joined the chorus. Some studios voiced their opposition to the change, while others are considering stronger measures, such as switching to a different game engine, like Mega Crit (Slay the Spire).
Another studio, InnerSloth, the creator of Among Us, expressed their discontent and revealed they are considering "pulling Among Us for a while" while they figure out what to do.
I bet Steam, Epic, Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft will love having waves of developers pulling their games.
— Forest 🔜 BitSummit (@forte_bass) September 12, 2023
Innersloth has always paid Unity appropriately for licenses and services we use. I'm not a discourse guy, but this is undue and *will* force my hand. https://t.co/zLC9a8lBED
"We are fortunate to have the resources to change engines, and we see no reason to pay Unity for nothing while doing so," said developer Forest Willard to IGN. "I hope they back down, but they should be aware of how much trust they're burning with whatever this maneuver is."
What Can Developers Do After Unity's Controversial Change?
The simplest alternative that many mention is to switch games to a different engine and leave Unity behind, but the reality is that it's not as straightforward as it seems.
The entire game is coded to work in Unity, and changing the engine is not a simple matter. Developers warn that doing so could result in delays, as it takes time to acquire the skills needed to develop in another unfamiliar engine.
It seems to be a questionable move on Unity's part, and other engines, such as Unreal Engine, stand to benefit, not to mention that all this controversy would provide free publicity for them.
What are your thoughts on the Unity scandal? Let us know in the comments.
You can find more Unity-related news on this page.
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