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Unity reportedly told dev Planned Parenthood and children's hospital are "not valid charities" (www.gamesindustry.biz)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/technology

47 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/5555641

archive.org

Developers of indie puzzle game Orgynizer have claimed that Unity said organisations like Planned Parenthood are "not valid charities" and are instead "political groups."

In a blog post, the EU-based developer LizardFactory said the plans to charge developers up to $0.20 per install if they reach certain thresholds would cost them "around 30% of the funds we have gathered and already sent to charity."

As Unity clarified the runtime fee will not apply to charity games, LizardFactory reached out to the company to clarify their game would be exempt from the plan.

However, Unity reportedly said their partners were not "valid charities" and were viewed as "political groups."

Profits made from the game go directly to non-profit organisation Planned Parenthood and C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Michigan.

"We did this to raise money for a good cause, not to line the coffers of greedy scumbags," the developers wrote in a blog post. "We have been solid Unity fanboys for over ten years, but the trust is scattered all over the floor."

The developers are considering a move to open-source game engine Godot, "but we will have to recode our entire game because we refuse to give you a dime," they wrote. "This is a mafia-style shakedown, nothing more, nothing less."

Today, Unity responded to the ongoing backlash and apologised, acknowledging the "confusion and angst" surrounding the runtime fee policy.

The company has promised that changes to the policy will be shared in "a couple of days."

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[–] flux 97 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I don't see an official statement but it would be really amazing for a company that is asking everyone to follow the new rules to ignore the well established laws at the same time. They can have whatever opinions they want but these places are recognized as such.

"Some organizations must also file a request with the Internal Revenue Service to gain status as a tax-exempt non-profit charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the US tax code."

"Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc is a nonprofit organization It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3)"

[–] dustyData 80 points 11 months ago

I would bet money that soon something will leak along the lines, CEO of Unity said that they will not support woke charities.

The whole board of Unity is currently a bunch of right wing nutjobs.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

it would be really amazing for a company that is asking everyone to follow the new rules to ignore the well established laws at the same time

Eh. The whole foundational element of capital is "I own it, therefore I get to make the rules". The laws are for us "human capital", who exist to do what the rich want. This is what they think of us, and they behave in perfect coherence with this line of thinking.

[–] [email protected] 73 points 11 months ago (14 children)

Ah yes, because women's healthcare is considered contraversial by Republicans. The grand majority of Planned parenthood's services are focused on cancer screenings and STI treatment and prevention.

They almost exclusively treat those who can't afford mainstream healthcare. While some men use the services, women make up 87% of those who receive care.

The twisted people who target this organizion are evil.

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[–] [email protected] 58 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Either those entities are registed as charities or they're not. From a quick google it seems they are, so Unity is (again) talking shit.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 11 months ago

But everything else they've said recently was so well thought-out!

[–] [email protected] 49 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Devs may as well bite the bullet & switch engines mid development now, because I'm not buying any new games made in Unity.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 11 months ago (3 children)

That's a huge ask. As a former game dev, reading things like that would break me if I was one of the affected ones.

Remember the devs are people. You're asking them to redo a lot of work with very little upside.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago

Imagine you're a few years in and almost ready to release. I'd be in tears due to stress.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Well, there is an upside; they'll no longer be beholden to Unity and their arbitrary fees.

I'm a game dev myself so I do understand you can't simply "swap engines", it's a lot of work. But it's likely less work than creating a game from scratch (disclaimer: not familiar with Unity or Godot in particular), and one must be careful not to fall for the sunk cost fallacy. If it takes an extra year to swap to Godot but as a result you get to keep 100% of your revenues (minus Steam's cut of course, if you're going that route) it may actually be worth it.

[–] Ottomateeverything 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

if it takes an extra year to swap to Godot but as a result you get to keep 100% of your revenues (minus Steam's cut of course, if you're going that route) it may actually be worth it.

Not if that's a year you don't have income and can't eat - then it's not a choice at all.

If you're doing this as a side job, and it's extra income on the side, sure. But many small studios and indie devs do this as their primary income, and kicking their paycheck a year down the road is a non starter for many orgs. And with the demographics of unity devs, that's probably more than norm than it is the exception.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

I did say it may be worth it. Each team is going to be different.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

It seems more fair to say we shouldn't buy Unity games a few years from now. Some games may be closer to completion, and they may have gone through years of development.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

Planned parenthood I understand due to how it is demonized, but how is a children’s hospital not a valid charity?

[–] TheLordHumungus 47 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Fuck children let em die! - unity devs

[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That does seem to be the conservative way.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago

All my homies hate children. - unity devs

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The only question for either of the is if they have registered charity status. If so, nothing else matters.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

That’s right. It’s not up to Unity to decide the values of a charity.

[–] Arthur_Leywin 25 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I want their company to burn to the ground.

[–] theyoyomaster 15 points 11 months ago

I wonder if they consider the NRA? It would be weird to exclude 501C3s but not 501c4s and PP operates separately as both.

[–] Elliott 13 points 11 months ago (1 children)

If I find out these are the people responsible for the removal of the 3.5 headphone jack, I'm devoting my life to dismantling this company. Like, how do they keep getting worse?

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago (2 children)

The CEO of Unity used to be the CEO of Electronic Arts, if that helps motivate you.

[–] LukeMedia 1 points 11 months ago

Too greedy for EA!

[–] Elliott 0 points 11 months ago

Sounds like a solid contributing member of society.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yep. If this is true. Consider them #cancelled.

[–] chic_luke 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Unity was "cancelled" the very second they introduced this fee. Nobody wants or will ever want to publish their game in Unity anymore. Studios planning to develop a game in Unity have already decided on moving to Unreal as we speak.

Unity is now irrelevant, and a product to recommend against. Unity is legacy software to abandon. If this doesn't mean it's cancelled I don't know what does.

[–] thantik 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

What skin does some game developer in Denmark have in American politics anyhow? Like, I get the backlash here -- but what an odd source...

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago

People in America contribute to charities that do work trying to improve the lives of the destitute and oppressed in other countries all the time, what's weird about someone in Europe trying to help the destitute and oppressed of America?