Game engine developer Unity canceled a planned meeting at town hall on Thursday due to death threats, technology media The Verge reported citing Bloomberg .
Bloomberg reported in a report that Unity CEO John Riccitiello originally planned to speak to employees on Thursday morning, but due to receiving death threats, the company-wide meeting was canceled and Unity's two offices in San Francisco and Austin in the United States were temporarily closed. office.
Unity has caused fierce controversy in the gaming industry this week. The company announced that it will implement an installation-based charging model (runtime fee) starting from January 1, 2024 , and the game will charge up to $0.20 per installation.
Unity's approach has triggered criticism, and some well-known game studios have issued statements that they will remove their games from January 1, 2024.
Unity executive Marc Whitten responded to foreign media Axios in response to this controversy :
Unity actually only charges for the first install, but on the other hand if the same user installs the game on a different device (for example on a PC and then on a Steam Deck), they will still be charged. Be included in charges.
Marc Whitten also clarified several other points, including that game demo downloads will not be counted towards charging a "running fee" unless "the demo is included as part of the full game download" and that early access games will be charged instead. Games provided for or incorporating charity will be exempt from fees.
Further reading: Unity engine will charge based on game installation volume (runtime fee) starting next year