install would warrant a fee, meaning players could delete and reinstall a game multiple times to mess with developers. They have since said that it will only be charged on the initial installation, but that does not cover multiple platforms like an install on both PC and Steam Deck.
As for piracy, Unity says they have their own fraud protection tech that they say developers will need to trust so they’re not getting charged for pirated copies.Charity bundles including games will not be charged a fee, but the developer will have to inform Unity about the inclusion to make sure that actually happens.
Unity says that for games being offered on a subscription service like Game Pass, it would not be the developer being charged for the installs, it would instead be Microsoft who has to pay. Microsoft has not had any response to this, and it seems likely it had no idea this was supposed to be the case.
Despite some clarifications, no one is celebrating this move. It feels deeply backward, and there will likely remain a flood of developers who flee to platform to Unreal or other engines in order to avoid this kind of install fee-based model that has arrived out of nowhere. Some are wondering if Unity, which has lost half its value in the last five years, will be able to survive in the long term if this is what they’re resorting to in order to increase revenue.