Terraria developer Re-Logic takes a stand against Unity, donates $200,000 to Godot, FNA

In a bold move that has won the hearts of many game developers, Re-Logic, the studio behind the popular sandbox game Terraria, has donated $100,000 each to the open-source game engines Godot and FNA. The company has also pledged to provide ongoing support of $1,000 per month to each project.

This move comes in response to Unity’s recent decision to start charging fees each time a title using its game engine is installed. Re-Logic has called Unity’s move “predatory” and “unequivocally condemn[ed]” the fee changes.

Unity is one of the most popular game engines in the world, and its announcement of the runtime fees has sent shockwaves through the game development community. Many developers are concerned that the fees will make it more difficult to create and release profitable games.

Re-Logic’s donation to Godot and FNA is a clear sign that the company is not happy with Unity’s decision and is a tangible support for the open-source game engine community, which offers devs a free alternative to Unity. Many have praised the Terraria creator for its efforts to give everyone more reason to invest in a viable alternative to Unity, and that money is already going to some great additions like a Godot asset store, which has been desired for years.

A powerful message to Unity

In addition to said donation, Re-Logic has also released a statement condemning Unity’s runtime fees. The statement reads in part:

“We believe that Unity’s runtime fees are a predatory move that will harm the game development community. We are especially concerned about the impact that these fees will have on small and independent developers. We are committed to supporting the open-source game engine community, and we encourage other developers to do the same.”

Of course, the hope is that this sends a powerful message to Unity, who has yet to back down on its decision entirely, and has instead changed its fee structure this week to 4% for games making over a million dollars. It would be ideal if more studios and publishers were able to donate to Godot or others in that wheelhouse to carry these efforts further. Let me know in the comments if you plan to pitch a bit or if you think this money will go very far in the grand scheme of things as more and more people download these other engines.