TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
The fallout from Unity's disastrous 2023 fee overhaul continues to be felt.
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I've been enjoying Slay the Spire 2, even if I agree with PCG's Robin Valentine that it sometimes feels like more of a remake than a sequel. But there's plenty of time for that to change: the game has only just launched in early access, and developer Mega Crit says it expects to spend one to two years building it out before a full release. Nevertheless it's already a huge hit, selling over three million copies in the first week.
I had this little itch in my brain when I was looking through the game's credits and saw the Godot logo, and then the reason why hit me: the Unity debacle of 2023, which saw Mega Crit switch engines to Godot after two years of development. I don't even think I'd heard of Godot until this.
A quick refresher: Unity attempted to attach a flat per-install fee to games that use its engine, and did so by scrapping all its existing deals and making the change retroactive. It also added a "runtime fee" that would apply to games that pass certain installation and revenue thresholds. There were all sorts of other problems, and developers showed a remarkable degree of (*coughs*) unity in coming out with public statements condemning the change, with many saying they were done with Unity entirely.
Unity initially attempted to stand firm, but was soon enough forced into a partial U-turn. And it only took a few weeks before then-CEO John Riccitiello was forced to 'retire' from his various senior roles, including president, chief executive officer, chairman and a member of the company's board of directors.
Unity remains a hugely popular engine, and CEO Matthew Bromberg has done a decent job of righting the ship, but Slay the Spire 2 shows just how much damage the whole debacle caused the company. At the time Mega Crit hadn't yet announced Slay the Spire 2, but issued this statement:
"The Mega Crit team has been hard at work these past 2+ years on a new game. But unlike with Slay the Spire, the engine we have been developing it in is Unity.
"Despite the immense amount of time and effort our team has already poured into development on our new title, we will be migrating to a new engine unless the changes are completely reverted and TOS protections are put in place.
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From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
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Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
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I've been enjoying Slay the Spire 2, even if I agree with PCG's Robin Valentine that it sometimes feels like more of a remake than a sequel. But there's plenty of time for that to change: the game has only just launched in early access, and developer Mega Crit says it expects to spend one to two years building it out before a full release. Nevertheless it's already a huge hit, selling over three million copies in the first week.
I had this little itch in my brain when I was looking through the game's credits and saw the Godot logo, and then the reason why hit me: the Unity debacle of 2023, which saw Mega Crit switch engines to Godot after two years of development. I don't even think I'd heard of Godot until this.
A quick refresher: Unity attempted to attach a flat per-install fee to games that use its engine, and did so by scrapping all its existing deals and making the change retroactive. It also added a "runtime fee" that would apply to games that pass certain installation and revenue thresholds. There were all sorts of other problems, and developers showed a remarkable degree of (*coughs*) unity in coming out with public statements condemning the change, with many saying they were done with Unity entirely.
Unity initially attempted to stand firm, but was soon enough forced into a partial U-turn. And it only took a few weeks before then-CEO John Riccitiello was forced to 'retire' from his various senior roles, including president, chief executive officer, chairman and a member of the company's board of directors.
Unity remains a hugely popular engine, and CEO Matthew Bromberg has done a decent job of righting the ship, but Slay the Spire 2 shows just how much damage the whole debacle caused the company. At the time Mega Crit hadn't yet announced Slay the Spire 2, but issued this statement:
"The Mega Crit team has been hard at work these past 2+ years on a new game. But unlike with Slay the Spire, the engine we have been developing it in is Unity.
"Despite the immense amount of time and effort our team has already poured into development on our new title, we will be migrating to a new engine unless the changes are completely reverted and TOS protections are put in place.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?