Kitbash3D has come to the Unity Asset Store! This is the Asset Store’s first large library partner, creating the world’s most premium 3D assets.
If you’re not familiar, KitBash3D produces high quality art work intended to be “KitBashed” together to create new worlds. Their asset library has been used by film studios (Disney, Fox, Marvel, HBO) and game studios (Ubisoft, EA, 2K, Tencent) as well as indies.
Check out our latest blog post to see a sample scene we put together using KitBash3D and our very own Snaps Asset.
The license:
“…You may use the kit on commercial projects while working as a freelancer hired by a studio but you may not use a freelance license on studio projects as a staffed artists at that studio. Use by a professional studio or by more than one (1) individual user under the Freelance license shall constitute a violation of this End User License Agreement. See Restrictions below…”
The term “professional studio” is kinda ambiguous. Many indie titles are indie titles. We are small studios. We are professionals. Are we also a “professional studio”? If so any assets we buy on the Unity Asset Store (and esp. the free sample kit that contains a special license we must agree to) we actually can’t use according to the KitBash3D EULA correct? We can only use it as a freelancer working for another studio. Can we own our own studio and subcontract ourselves to meet with license terms. This seems to be a big gotcha.
Also is there a way to register our Unity Assets purchases with you to perhaps unlock a upgrade to Studio license feature on your website?
To be honest, I thought some of these packs looked interesting, but the moment the popup about the licensing came up and I actually read the terms and conditions, I could not have been faster to clear out this stuff from my shopping basket. You need to agree to that license to buy or download any of KitBash3d content, not just the free stuff, btw. Which, again, is unfortunate because several of these packs looked interesting.
I suggest any of my fellow game devs considering these packs reads the conditions closely before you click agree, because there are some interesting moments to be found inside.
I have a couple issues with the terms and conditions, including disliking that the packs have their own conditions separate from Unity license, but my main issue is they are vague (!). But the way I interpret this text, you are not allowed to use the normal license if you are a professional game developer (not even if you are a solo dev). It’s only for student, hobbyist or freelancer artist use, quote as follows from the licensing page: “For a single individual artist, or a hobbyist, or a student, not working at a studio”.
I have nothing against KitBash3d as a company. But I dislike that Unity lets this stuff be sold here with that license, because it feels daft to let anyone sell a product on a professional game dev market that is not allowed to be used by professional game devs.
You could be right! But the thing is, I’m genuinely not certain if that’s the case or not. This is from the ToS regarding the standard (non-studio) license:
“You agree that use of the 3D Model Kit under the Freelance license shall not exceed more than one (1) individual user, nor shall the 3D Model Kit be used by any individual on behalf of any studio, company, and/or separate entity. You may use the kit on commercial projects while working as a freelancer hired by a studio but you may not use a freelance license on studio projects as a staffed artists at that studio.”
Just seems to me even a company run by a solo gamedev could be excluded, if you read that ToS strictly to the letter.
I see what you mean, but I’m interpreting that by “studio” they are using that word to refer to a legal entity that’s a group of more than one person (i.e. like a company comprised of multiple people). So I take it to mean that I cannot buy the individual license if I’m working in a team, even if it’s only on my machine or whatever.
I’ve not read the whole license agreement, so I don’t know if they explicitly define the word “studio” somewhere. I could be completely wrong about this.
I think they got bad advice on their licensing agreement. It doesn’t clearly define the situation with one-man studios. The intent of the license is unclear. It could talk about seats, for instance, but it doesn’t.
I would like to make a purchase, but I’m a one man studio, not a freelancer.
If anyone from Unity ( @UnityHas ?) or Kitbash3D can advise me on the license, I’d like to take advantage of the sale, which ends soon. I’ve been trying to find more info, but from what I can see right now, I should steer clear of it.
I think UAS customers could run into problems here, as they expect the UAS to sell assets they can actually use in a game. But if you’re buying at the listed price in the store, you are getting the freelance version which you can’t publish with.
Accordingly, I backed all of my Kitbash3D items out of my cart.
From their website it says the following:
Which license am I? Freelance License If you are a freelance artist for hire, or a hobbyist, or a student, and not staffed at a studio, this license is for you. Studio projects of any kind are not covered under this license nor can kits with this license be stored on a company server.
It sounds like there has indeed been a misunderstanding, but fret not! Our Licenses are structured by number of seats used. If you are a solo developer, you can use an Individual license commercially without issue.
However, if you upload the assets to a shared drive or company owned server, you have effectively brought more seats to the table and must purchase a Small Studio (2-7) or Enterprise (8+) accordingly.
If you have additional questions or concerns about our licenses, please contact us at info@kitbash3d.com. We’ll be happy to work with you to determine the correct license(s) for your current or future projects.
Also, thank you for the feedback on this topic, it’s incredibly valuable to us as we continue to grow into the space and support the Unity development community!
@toomey to me it looks like there is some confusion over the term “studio”. It looks like some people interpret that word to mean any professional developing entity (including solo developers) so there may not be a single agreed-upon definition for this term.
I’m hoping what they mean is “If only one person will ever have access to the product, then the Individual License is for you, irrespective of the circumstances”.
But the “not staffed at a studio” caveat in the license definition confuses the situation greatly, because there are a lot of one person studios and business entities that use Unity (myself included).
This is correct. In short, if you are a solo dev, or an independent contractor contracted with a studio (read: assets/hardware are owned and operated solely by said contractor), an Individual license applies. For more information about our License Terms, please visit our “Which License Am I?” article in our Help Center.
Thanks for the clarification.
I’m looking forward to trying some of these assets out with CityGen3D, to combine them with real world map data.
So should be lots of fun!
COMPATIBILITY 