Digital Gaming
Unity Announces New Install-Based Fees, Sparks Concerns Among Game Developers

(CTN NEWS) – Unity, the versatile game engine behind popular titles like Rust, Hollow Knight, and Pokémon Go, has introduced a contentious new fee structure for developers, set to go into effect next year.
Independent game developers wasted no time reacting to the announcement, with many expressing concerns that this policy could potentially stifle smaller game projects.
Meanwhile, confusion has rippled through the developer community as they grapple with the uncertainties surrounding its impact on their financial outcomes.
Unity’s attempts to shed light on the matter have, rather ironically, added to developers’ frustration, generating even more inquiries from those with games currently in progress or actively utilizing the engine.
The newly unveiled Runtime Fee, disclosed in a Unity blog post on September 12th, hinges on the number of installations that a game, developed using the Unity engine, accumulates, as well as the revenue it generates.
Although this fee won’t become effective until January 1, 2024, it will be applicable to any game that meets specific criteria regarding annual revenue thresholds and lifetime install counts.
We leverage our own proprietary data model, so you can appreciate that we won’t go into a lot of detail, but we believe it gives an accurate determination of the number of times the runtime is distributed for a given project.
— Unity (@unity) September 12, 2023
Unity’s New Installation Thresholds and Fees Create Confusion Among Developers
Unity’s recent announcement of installation thresholds and associated fees has triggered widespread confusion and concern within the developer community.
The new thresholds and charges vary based on subscription plans and revenue levels, leading to uncertainty for developers, especially those working on free-to-play games or charity bundles.
Thresholds and Charges:
- Unity Personal and Unity Plus Plans:
- Threshold: $200,000 in revenue within one year and 200,000 lifetime installs.
- Charges: $0.20 per game installation exceeding the subscription-specific thresholds.
- Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise Accounts:
- Threshold: $1 million in revenue and 1 million lifetime installs.
- Charges for Unity Pro Developers: Varied fees ranging from $0.02 to $0.15 per installation beyond their prescribed limits.
- Charges for Unity Enterprise Developers: Costs ranging from $0.01 to $0.125 per additional installation.
Lower Costs in Emerging Markets:
Developers in emerging markets will experience lower costs per installation exceeding their respective thresholds, offering some relief from the additional fees.
Impact and Concerns:
The introduction of these fees has left the developer community grappling with various concerns:
- Free-to-Play Game Developers:
- Uncertainty: Developers of free-to-play games are uncertain about potential financial liabilities resulting from excessive installations, which could impact their profitability.
- Charity Bundle Creators:
- Worries: Developers who participate in charity bundles are worried about potential repercussions for supporting charitable causes. They fear the added installation fees could affect the overall proceeds going to charity.
Unity’s new installation thresholds and associated fees have generated considerable confusion and apprehension among developers, particularly those working on free-to-play games or charity initiatives.
As the developer community seeks clarity and evaluates the financial implications of these changes, the impact on the gaming industry’s landscape remains uncertain.
Unity’s Recent Policy Changes Draw Criticism from the Gaming Community
The gaming community, especially independent creators, has been vocal in its criticism of Unity’s recent policy changes.
These changes have raised concerns about the significant reduction in a creator’s potential earnings from their games and the heightened financial risks in an already precarious industry.
This situation becomes even more challenging for developers collaborating with publishers, where revenue is often shared. For developers with moderately successful games, the imposition of fees diminishes their chances of covering their costs, let alone making a profit.
To illustrate the potential impact, developer Aggro Crab presented a hypothetical scenario: “Another Crab’s Treasure will be available for free to install for the 25 million Game Pass subscribers.
If even a fraction of those users download our game, Unity’s fees could severely dent our income and jeopardize the sustainability of our business.”
“This concern arises before factoring in sales on other platforms, pirated installations of our game, or multiple installations by the same user,” they added.
Innersloth, the developer behind “Among Us,” echoed these sentiments, stating, “This would harm not only us but game studios of all sizes and budgets.
If this policy is implemented, we might have to delay the release of content and features that our players actually want, or even consider moving our game to a different engine, as others are also contemplating. However, many developers may not have the time or resources to do the same.”
Developer Fabraz pointed out the potential consequences, noting, “Even something as simple as releasing a demo suddenly becomes a financial risk.”
While digital demo festivals like Steam Next Fest can be crucial for attracting attention to a game, the installation fee could place a burden on the team behind a popular demo, potentially putting them into debt before they’ve earned a single dollar from the game.
There’s also no guarantee that users who install the demo will actually play it.
Ashley Ringrose of SMG Studio added, “For free-to-play games, this cost will make Unity an expensive engine to use unless monetized correctly. You could launch a viral hit but still earn very little over the threshold.”
Unity has attempted to address some concerns by stating that the Unity Runtime Fee won’t apply to games distributed in charity bundles like Humble Bundle or those on Itch.io. However, the company has not clarified how it will track these specific installations.
Game developer and consultant Rami Ismail offered a hypothetical scenario if tracking was not possible, citing the Itch.io charity bundle for Racial Equality and Justice:
“If you made a game that just reached $200K in revenue with a 50/50 publisher split and chose to support, for example, this charity bundle for Racial Justice, you could end up in debt of up to $60K.”
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Digital Gaming
The Hidden Depths of Minesweeper: Strategy, Skill, and Surprise

The classic game bundled with so many of our introduction computers, Minesweeper, is much more than just a timewaster. The Hidden Depths of Minesweeper: Strategy, Skill, and Surprise gives us an insight into the fascinating mix of luck, logic, and strategy that lies at its core.
Minesweeper strategy – Finding the right path to followIn this article, we dive past what it takes to follow a guide on learning how to play Minesweeper but discuss the cognitive benefits and strategic elements in one of those typical-looking grids of squares.
From those seeking to hone their hobby and improve mental acuity to anyone who wants an in-depth understanding of why Minesweeper continues as one of the most popular games online for nearly a generation, lessons and revelations abound.
Minesweeper, like the Rest of Us
To become a master of Minesweeper, it is essential to know the basic principles. This section will try to understand the basic gameplay a beginner needs and how well you can disregard other ideas while going in.
You will discover how to move across the interface, rules of play, and early game plans, respectively. This is foundational for anyone wanting to master Minesweeper and the base understanding necessary before we start exploring more advanced techniques or deeper strategic avenues.
A few sophisticated techniques and sprucing up the strategy
Once you have the fundamentals down, Minesweeper’s strategy is a matter of pattern recognition and anticipation. In the latter part of this article, we show some sophisticated tools and hone your probability even more!
It ranges from learning how to efficiently use tags for flagging mines over more advanced approaches, e.g., the ‘1-2 pattern’ to figure out which moves are safe – all intended to streamline your efforts and foster strategic thinking. These are the super-fundamentals that players need to get into to increase their play and tackle higher difficulty levels.
Cognitive Gains: Lessons We Can Learn From Minesweeper
Having fun and exercising the brain with Minesweeper In one such section, exploring the cognitive gains associated with playing Minesweeper regularly (i.e., improved problem-solving skills and memory; faster decision-making process).
It helps to develop a sense of spatial awareness and cognitive processing, which is lightning quick. We’ll also cover how these skills can be used in other realms, with our argument for why you might want to add Minesweeper into your weekly cognitive fitness.
Minesweeper in Contemporary Gaming Culture
However, it has survived gracefully as Minesweeper adapted to new platforms and technology. This part of Origin is a dive into how the game has transitioned from an idle desktop amusement pre-load to what you see on mobile and online.
We look closer at the devious changes it has been through and examine how digitization brought Minesweeper to new players today as one of the most well-known titles bundled with Windows. We will also explore the Minesweeper community, consisting of online forums, competitive play, and global leaderboards that keep it vibrant even today.
Conclusion
Minesweeper has shown to be a more complex and delightful game than is immediately apparent. It rewards players every step of the way, with everything from basic gameplay mechanics to complex strategies, cognitive benefits, and cultural significance.
Whether you are an old hand, a skilled player, or a newbie waiting to explore its essence, Minesweeper offers intense playtimes and furnishes strategic insights and brain-boosting skills. While we enjoy and explore this game, Minesweeper shows how well-designed puzzles (in any field) can still be fun after 30 years.
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https://www.chiangraitimes.com/digital-gaming/god-of-war-ragnarok-comes-to-pc/
Digital Gaming
The hidden depths of Minesweeper: strategy, skill, and surprise

The classic game bundled with so many of our introduction computers, Minesweeper, is much more than just a timewaster. The Hidden Depths of Minesweeper: Strategy, Skill, and Surprise gives us an insight into the fascinating mix of luck, logic, and strategy that lies at its core. Minesweeper strategy – Finding the right path to followIn this article, we dive past what it takes to follow a guide on learning how to play Minesweeper but discuss the cognitive benefits and strategic elements in one of those typical-looking grids of squares. From those seeking to hone their hobby and improve mental acuity to anyone who wants an in-depth understanding of why Minesweeper continues as one of the most popular games online for nearly a generation, lessons and revelations abound.
Minesweeper, like the Rest of Us
To become a master of Minesweeper, it is essential to know the basic principles. This section will try to understand the basic gameplay a beginner needs and how well you can disregard other ideas while going in. You will discover how to move across the interface, rules of play, and early game plans, respectively. This is foundational for anyone wanting to master Minesweeper and the base understanding necessary before we start exploring more advanced techniques or deeper strategic avenues.
A few sophisticated techniques and sprucing up the strategy
Once you have the fundamentals down, Minesweeper’s strategy is a matter of pattern recognition and anticipation. In the latter part of this article, we show some sophisticated tools and hone your probability even more! It ranges from learning how to efficiently use tags for flagging mines over more advanced approaches, e.g., the ‘1-2 pattern’ to figure out which moves are safe – all intended to streamline your efforts and foster strategic thinking. These are the super-fundamentals that players need to get into to increase their play and tackle higher difficulty levels.
Cognitive Gains: Lessons We Can Learn From Minesweeper
Having fun and exercising the brain with Minesweeper In one such section, exploring the cognitive gains associated with playing Minesweeper regularly (i.e., improved problem-solving skills and memory; faster decision-making process). It helps to develop a sense of spatial awareness and cognitive processing, which is lightning quick. We’ll also cover how these skills can be used in other realms, with our argument for why you might want to add Minesweeper into your weekly cognitive fitness.
Minesweeper in Contemporary Gaming Culture
However, it has survived gracefully as Minesweeper adapted to new platforms and technology. This part of Origin is a dive into how the game has transitioned from an idle desktop amusement pre-load to what you see on mobile and online. We look closer at the devious changes it has been through and examine how digitization brought Minesweeper to new players today as one of the most well-known titles bundled with Windows. We will also explore the Minesweeper community, consisting of online forums, competitive play, and global leaderboards that keep it vibrant even today.
Conclusion
Minesweeper has shown to be a more complex and delightful game than is immediately apparent. It rewards players every step of the way, with everything from basic gameplay mechanics to complex strategies, cognitive benefits, and cultural significance. Whether you are an old hand, a skilled player, or a newbie waiting to explore its essence, Minesweeper offers intense playtimes and furnishes strategic insights and brain-boosting skills. While we enjoy and explore this game, Minesweeper shows how well-designed puzzles (in any field) can still be fun after 30 years.
SEE ALSO: Astro Bot Returns On PlayStation 5 in 2024 – State of Play 2024
Digital Gaming
Canuckle: The Canadian Twist on the Wordle Phenomenon

In the ever-evolving world of online gaming, one word game has captured the attention of millions worldwide – Wordle.
Launched in October 2021, Wordle quickly became a global phenomenon, with players eagerly anticipating the daily challenge of guessing a five-letter word. However, for Canadian enthusiasts, a new and exciting version of this game has emerged – Canuckle.
Canuckle is a Canadian-themed spin-off of the original Wordle, created by an Ottawa resident, Mark Rogers, in February 2022.
This game has quickly gained popularity among Canadians, offering a unique and engaging way to showcase the country’s culture, language, and identity through the medium of a word game.
What is Canuckle?
Canuckle is a daily online word game that follows the same basic premise as Wordle, but with a distinctly Canadian twist. Players have six attempts to guess a five-letter word, and the game provides feedback on the correct letters and their positions, just like in Wordle.
However, the key difference is that the words used in Canuckle are specifically related to Canadian culture, geography, or language.
The game’s creator, Mark Rogers, was inspired to develop Canuckle after his children struggled with some of the more obscure words in the original Wordle.
“My kids had been doing some of the Wordle puzzles and there were some tricky words like ‘knoll’ and ‘proxy’ and they didn’t know what those were,” Rogers explains. “So I thought it would be fun to have some words that were a little more common, but tied to Canada.”
Canuckle Rules and Gameplay
The rules of Canuckle are straightforward and similar to Wordle. Players have six attempts to guess a five-letter word, and the game provides feedback on the correct letters and their positions.
If a letter is in the correct spot, it will be highlighted in green; if the letter is in the word but in the wrong position, it will be yellow; and if the letter is not in the word at all, it will be gray.
To start a new game, players simply visit the Canuckle website (https://canucklewordgame.ca) and click the “New Game” button. The game will then randomly select a five-letter Canadian-themed word for the player to guess.
One of the unique aspects of Canuckle is the variety of words used in the game. The words can range from Canadian geographical locations (like “Yukon” or “Moose Jaw”), to Canadian slang and idioms (such as “hoser” or “eh”), to iconic Canadian symbols and cultural references (like “maple” or “loon”).
Canuckle Tips and Strategies
While Canuckle shares many similarities with Wordle, there are some unique strategies and tips that can help players improve their performance:
- Start with Common Canadian Words: Begin your guesses with words that are commonly used in Canada, such as “hockey,” “maple,” or “beaver.” These words are more likely to be included in the daily Canuckle puzzle.
- Use the Feedback: Pay close attention to the feedback provided after each guess, as it can help you narrow down the correct word. Focus on the letters that are highlighted in green or yellow, as they will give you valuable clues about the word.
- Keep Track of Previous Guesses: Maintaining a record of your previous guesses can help you avoid repeating words and wasting valuable attempts.
- Embrace Canadian Slang and Idioms**: Don’t be afraid to try guessing words that are uniquely Canadian, such as “hoser,” “toque,” or “eh.” These types of words are often featured in the Canuckle puzzles.
- Use Word Associations: When trying to guess the correct word, think about other words or phrases that are associated with Canadian culture or geography. This can help you come up with creative and relevant guesses.
- Don’t Overthink It: Sometimes the correct word can be a simple and straightforward Canadian term. Avoid overcomplicating your guesses, as this can lead you further away from the solution.
The Popularity of Canuckle
Since its launch in February 2022, Canuckle has quickly gained a dedicated following among Canadian Wordle enthusiasts. The game has been praised for its unique and engaging approach to showcasing Canadian culture and language, and it has even attracted the attention of national media outlets.
According to the game’s creator, Mark Rogers, Canuckle has seen a remarkable surge in popularity, with over 2.4 million players as of early 2023.
The game’s success has been particularly notable on social media, where Canadians have enthusiastically shared their Canuckle experiences and achievements.
One of the game’s avid players, Brenda Neale, Rogers’ aunt, expressed her fondness for Canuckle, saying, “I love the game because it’s Canadian is the main thing. I just like the fact that you have to think of Canadian things.
And he’s had some great words that are Canadian – sorry, loons, syrup, maple.”
The game’s popularity has also led to the creation of a dedicated community of Canuckle players, who share tips, strategies, and discussions on various online platforms.
This sense of community and shared experience has been a significant factor in the game’s success, as it has fostered a sense of national pride and camaraderie among Canadian players.
The Future of Canuckle
As Canuckle continues to gain popularity, the game’s creator, Mark Rogers, has revealed plans to keep the game fresh and engaging for its growing player base.
One notable decision is to end the game’s daily challenges on Canada Day, July 1st, 2024, with the final word being a special Canadian-themed surprise.
“We actually decided we wanted to get all the way to Canada Day,” Rogers explains. “So the last word is going to be on July 1. So, we’ve got a good number of words in store all the way to July 1.”
This strategic move not only adds to the game’s uniqueness but also aligns with the Canadian theme, making the final challenge a fitting celebration of the country’s national holiday.
Despite the game’s finite lifespan, Canuckle’s impact on the Canadian gaming community is likely to be long-lasting.
The game has not only provided a fun and engaging way for Canadians to connect with their national identity but has also highlighted the growing demand for culturally-specific digital experiences.
As the world continues to embrace the Wordle phenomenon, Canuckle stands as a testament to the power of adapting popular gaming concepts to reflect the unique cultural and linguistic nuances of a particular region or country.
In the case of Canuckle, it has become a beloved and quintessentially Canadian addition to the ever-evolving world of online word games.
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