New Unity Store is Live

Published: June 28, 2016 11:54 PM /

By:


Unity3D Logo

The new Unity Store is now live according to a post on the Unity blog.

The pricing structure of the Unity engine has changed to a subscription-based model which is now reflected in the new Unity Store. Four separate tiers of the engine are now available. Unity Personal remains free as it was before with a revenue cap of $100,000 on products sold via this license. The next step up is Unity Plus at $35 per seat/month. The Plus version adds the Pro Editor UI Skin, a 20% discount on Asset Kits, and more. Unity Pro is $125 per seat/month and adds even more features including access to Unity's source code, an unlimited revenue capacity, and premium technical support from Unity. Lastly, Unity Enterprise is a custom solution for larger studios that gets you a dedicated build agent, custom multiplayer, and all the benefits of the preceding tiers.

Unity also introduced a "Pay To Own" system in an earlier blog post. Once you've paid for Unity Pro for 24 consecutive months (or more) you will retain access to the engine as well as the next three patches if you stop paying the subscription. However, you will lose access to the live services offered by Unity such as technical support. Restarting the Unity Pro subscription will resume access to these services and you'll gain access to a similar licensing arrangement after another 24 consecutive months of subscription.

A perpetual license for Unity Pro used to cost a flat fee of $1,500. A purchaser of said license going by "Dave" in the comments asked the following question:

I have a receipt from you guys that says i will receive Unity 5.x Pro and it’s updates. Because i paid in full for a permanent license. Can I expect you to honor your agreement to keep giving me updates for the permanent license that i paid for Unity 5.X Pro? Or are the people who were foolish enough to pay for a full license getting messed over again? Please clarify this for me. My blood is currently boiling.

Unity's Community Manager Alice Liang had the following reply in regards to the changes in licensing structure in the Unity Store:

Hi Dave – Your perpetual license for Unity 5 Pro entitles you to all the updates for the lifetime of 5, which ends March 2017. As a perpetual license holder, you will receive a direct email from us in the next couple months (if you haven’t already) detailing a special migration offer for you if you wish to transition to subscription. You’re also free to continue to use your license for Unity 5, but after March 2017 there will be no more new features (though we’ll continue to support 5 as we have done historically with critical fixes). I hope this answers some of your questions.

Developers who currently hold an existing license will be eligible for a limited discount compared to the prices in the Unity Store. Developers with existing licenses under the previous pricing scheme can get Unity Pro for $75 per seat/month for up to five seats for a limited transition period. Unity 5.x license holders have a transition period of 1 year and Unity 4.x license holders have a transition period of 2 years. Updates for existing licenses will otherwise cease after March 2017. Offers to upgrade through this system will be sent out to developers in batches.

More details can be found in the Migration Roadmap as well as the FAQ for the subscription model in the new Unity Store.

What do you think of the new Unity Store? How do you feel about the changes to Unity's licensing scheme? Let us know in the comments below!

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


A photograph of TechRaptor Senior Writer Robert N. Adams.
| Senior Writer

One of my earliest memories is playing Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I've had a controller in my hand since I was 4 and I… More about Robert N