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Unity announced an install fee, which will impact VR devs in particular
The Immersive Wire - 18 September 2023 (Monday Briefing)
Tom Ffiske
September 18, 2023
Executive summary
Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse and spatial computing. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:
Headline: Unity announced an install fee, which will impact VR devs in particular (analysis below).
Stat of the week: Only 38% of UK banking execs are engaging with metaverse technologies compared to 56% last year, according to Hexaware. Meanwhile, 92% of US manufacturing execs are investigating metaverse use cases according to Deloitte.
Other stories: LMNL announced a VR-first game engine outfitted with their game interoperability technology, Apple’s new phone will be able to capture spatial video, and Meta has rolled out Horizon Worlds on web and mobile in early access (more stories below).
Yup, still playing Baldur’s Gate 3.
Analysis
Unity announced an install fee, which will impact VR devs in particular.
Why is it significant? Unity is one of the more popular platforms for building immersive experiences, so adding an additional fee will directly impact the finances of companies that successfully scale up to their minimum threshold.
What are the responses? Worries, by the looks of it. Cloudhead Games, which made Pistol Whip, called on Unity to “completely retract this confusing and problematic fee model.” SideQuest also threatened Unity with a lawsuit, and many others criticised its viability. "With this latest change and the violation of trust it represents, though, it's hard to imagine getting excited about starting a new project in Unity," said Holden Link from Turbo Button.
In my view, the long-term impact is trust. Game devs need to trust their game engines for many years, as a project sprawls out over a long time. If an engine can drop a new fee in that time, it can negatively impact the finances of teams. It’s the hit on trust that people are mostly complaining about. It’s a move where Unity is seeking to raise additional revenue, but it’s proven to be an unpopular one that hits a few VR devs.
Other notable stories
Got any stories? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.
Apple’s new phone will be able to capture spatial video.
Demeo Battles will be released on 9 November.
EMPEROR, a narrative interactive experience, won the Venice Immersive Achievement Prize at the Venice International Film Festival.
Gravity Jack, a VR and AR agency, is looking for investment.
HaptX announced a Memorandum of Understanding with Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS).
LMNL announced a VR-first game engine outfitted with their game interoperability technology.
Meta has rolled out Horizon Worlds on web and mobile in early access.
Microsoft will continue its $22bn HoloLens deal.
The NATO Typhoon Fighter will use AR helmets.
Raindance Immersive unveiled its programme.
The VRDays Foundation introduced "Immersive Tech Odyssey" (ITO), a series of smaller-scaled events in different parts of Europe starting with Cyprus on 13 October 2023.
Help corner
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Note: The Immersive Wire is run by Tom Ffiske, who also works within Accenture’s metaverse group. The contents of the newsletter should not be regarded as Accenture’s views.