Unity, now free for mobile development!
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http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/Unity+news/news.asp?c=51030
Exciting news for those of us that are into making apps
Also we might be able to see more portfolio type apps.
Unity CEO David Helgason has taken to the stage during the firm's Unite Nordic conference in Malmo to announce that the engine is now free on Android and iOS.
License fees for the basic version of the engine have been scrapped, with the company claiming it is looking to push the "democratisation of game development further than ever before."
The move, which is being brought into force immediately, means that add-on tools the firm previously claimed cost $800 are now "completely free".
Exciting news for those of us that are into making apps
Also we might be able to see more portfolio type apps.
Replies
I was just a few days away from grabbing an android license since i missed out on the giveaway last year, so this is fantastic
Yeah, i know some people in the same situation, although the ones they gave out were for unity 3.8 or whatever, not unity 4
I've been developing for Unity for about a year now, and this announcement is great!
I've been thinking about making something for the OUYA, and this news makes that a lot more tempting.
The Pro license will still set you back a few thousand dollars. (if you want to get the portable licenses as well) And the Pro version is more feature-complete, offering advanced rendering and simulation systems that don't exist in the free version. There are some certain effects and tricks that just wouldn't be possible with the free version. Anyone wanting to really push their mobile game development would need to get the Pro version.
There's also the fact that the free version always features the Unity splash screen. So if you stick with the free version, Unity gets free advertising whenever someone plays your title. (something they would have to pay for in other industries) And that's good for their public awareness.
Also, free users will still purchase assets off of the Unity Asset store, and educational materials for the engine as well. There are plenty of ways for them to monetize Unity aside from selling the engine itself. The advantage of making it free is that they can draw in a much larger number of users.
I'm porting an open source game interpreter with the intention of running it on android and iOS and it would be so much better if it were free because I can't charge users for my project.
I'm pretty sure directional light shadows were added for the Basic (free) versions of Unity. I'm not sure that it is the full-on lighting model though, I'm pretty certain it is just enabling the previous version of basic shadows to work with directional lights.
As to the free mobile exporters, yes, that has been 100% confirmed as free going forward. It's already been integrated into the most recent release of the software on their site. Just download the latest version and the mobile exporters are already incorporated.
http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/183031-Mobile-game-deployment-with-Unity-is-now-free!?p=1250768&viewfull=1#post1250768