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this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2023
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Programming
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I've yet to see a coherent explanation for how Unity could even legally do that. As far as I know their previous Terms of Service did not include any mention of "also we can tack on additional fees whenever we want even for products that have already been developed" or "by agreeing to this version of the Terms of Service you permanently agree to any future versions of the Terms of Service", and even if it did I highly doubt that would be enforceable. They're trying to retroactively apply a fee structure that wasn't agreed to.
It's also telling that (according to Ars Technica) they specifically claim that this new fee structure isn't "royalties" and thus not subject to any protections afforded to royalty agreements. Methinks the lady doth protest too much and all that.
Unity licenses are sold as a subscription. When the subscription runs out, you either have to renew it and accept the new terms, or lose the license and stop distributing your game.
Okay, so even assuming that's the case, "stopping distribution" is different than "we're gonna charge you for installs of copies you've already sold". Still not seeing how that's legal.
Naturally they only get to charge for already-sold copies if you accept the new terms that include the charges. As for how it's legal to include those charges in the new terms to begin with, I guess you'd have to ask a contract lawyer. Presumably Unity's own lawyers are convinced they can get away with it, or they wouldn't have done it.