Key Takeaways
- Unity 6 set to release on October 17.
- Scrapped controversial runtime fees.
- Unity 6 offers enhanced graphics, multiplayer tools, web game dev support.
Unity has revealed that the next iteration of the game development platform, Unity 6, will release on October 17. The newest version of the engine was first announced back in 2023, but the news of a new Unity wasn’t received extremely well due to a change to licensing agreements.
Unity’s plan to change its agreement with its developers did not go over well. The announcement revealed that once a game reached a certain threshold, the developer would be charged for every install of the title. The most egregious issue, however, was that this was going to be implemented on games that had already been published. In other words, companies that had popular games on Unity would end up having to spend money from that point forward. However, the way Unity fees worked was changed, and more recently, the fees were canceled outright.
Now, Unity has announced that Unity 6 will finally launch on October 17, 2024. Unity has been using years to identify its software versions for a while now, but is returning to its old numbering system with 6. During a Unite conference in Barcelona, Unity announced the release date and gave some basic information on what users could expect from this iteration of the software should they choose to develop their games on Unity.
What's New With Unity 6?
According to Unity, the newest version of the software will offer developers an enhanced experience with an emphasis on customizable graphics rendering, simplified multiplayer development, and tools to build games for web browsers. Unity 6 will allegedly include «deeper» support over a long period, with frequent updates planned for the platform. Unity 6 is already expected to receive a major update in April 2025 that will move it to Unity 6.1, with support for things like games running on foldable phones like the Samsung GalaxyZ Fold5 or Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
Unity 6 is being described as the most stable version of the engine yet, which is likely to appeal to developers. However, it remains to be seen how Unity 6 fares in terms of popularity with developers. Many were pleased when Unity listened to its userbase and rolled back charging game developers for installs, but some may still be wary of any potential future changes that could transpire with the service. Unity also has steep competition from other game platforms like Unreal Engine or free solutions like Godot. How the platform will fare will likely become clearer once developers get a chance to fully explore what it has to offer over other systems.
