Benzinga - by Franca Quarneti, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Unity Software Inc (NYSE: U) issued an apology Sunday for the confusion and dissatisfaction caused by its recently announced runtime fee policy.
The leading cross-platform game engine company has faced criticism and a significant drop in its stock price after announcing a controversial fee structure called the Runtime Fee on Sept. 12.
The stock was losing ground in Monday's session, trading down 6.56% to $33.92.
This fee will charge developers based on the number of installations for games made with Unity once they surpass a certain threshold. The policy is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
The company took to X (formerly Twitter) to say that it will make changes to this policy but has not provided specific details about the modifications.
"We have heard you. We apologize for the confusion and angst the runtime fee policy we announced on Tuesday caused," the company acknowledged.
"We are listening, talking to our team members, community, customers, and partners, and will be making changes to the policy. We will share an update in a couple of days. Thank you for your honest and critical feedback," Unity added.
The controversial policy was set to take effect Jan. 1, 2024, and would charge 20 cents per install for games with over 200,000 installs.
The development community reacted strongly against these changes, with some studios vowing not to use Unity for their games, and others threatening to remove Unity-made games from circulation.
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