Important updates to the Unity Runtime Fee policy

[DairyFan28]

@CatrinMariachi

To me, looks like someone is trying to make a “Mark Zurck move” and make a database of players and sell that information to whoever is interested.
Or worse yet, someone is trying to build a database for a future in-game ads implementation.
I don’t like the idea that if I make games with Unity 2023 LTS, my games will possibly contain malware that collects data and information from my players. And it seems it would be like this.

A few things from the FAQ:

Does the Unity Runtime phone home by default?
It does not, unless you have hardware stats enabled.

We are not making a database of players.

How does Unity expect me to measure the number of initial engagements for my game?
In practice, we do not expect most customers to measure initial engagements directly, but to estimate them using readily available data. The most appropriate approach to use will depend on your game and your distribution platforms. Here are some examples of metrics that we recommend:

• Number of units sold: For a game with an up-front payment, using the number of units sold is an acceptable estimate. Subtracting units where the end user requested a refund can make the estimate even more accurate.
• First-time user download: For a game with no up-front payment, distributors often provide the number of distinct user accounts that downloaded a game for the first time. This is also an acceptable estimate, it is an event that typically occurs only once for each end user.

This list is not comprehensive, but submitting an estimate based on any of these metrics will be acceptable. We plan to provide more specific guidance on how you can find these numbers in publisher dashboards for the major distribution platforms. We are also happy to work with you to identify the best way to approach estimating initial engagements for your game.

App stores give you these numbers, you don’t need to add any trackers.