(Reuters) – Video-game software maker Unity on Friday rolled back key parts of a new “runtime fee” pricing policy that sparked backlash from gaming developers and slammed its share price.
The company behind the Unity Engine software that helps people make games had planned to charge developers each time their game is installed after certain milestones, like revenue, are crossed.
“Our Unity Personal plan will remain free and there will be no Runtime Fee for games built on Unity Personal,” company executive Marc Whitten said on Friday.
The company added that no game with less than $1 million in trailing 12-month revenue will be subject to the fee.
The move comes after several members of its key user base, small and independent developers, decided to boycott the company, raising fears of a flight to rival Epic Games that makes the Unreal gaming engine.
As of last close, Unity’s shares have lost about 19% of their value since the announcement of the new pricing policy on Sept. 12.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
