Revenue and UnityFree

[cindi3]

I want to try out Unity but have a few questions regarding monetization and upgrades.

Am I able to create a game in the free Unity and then upgrade or share files between the two versions?

I assume I would need a 2D assets library to create a game without code.

Essentially I can just purchase the prepaid PRO version once and done? I own a copy of the program now no strings attached?

Apologies if these questions are dumb or this is the wrong place to post.

Would just like clarification. Other companies share similar models or don’t disclose small things.

[N1warhead_1]

I don’t think you can share between free and pro, or even pro and plus.
I know years ago I tried and it failed to load the project. (Had Unity pro during 4x), tried to load project in Unity 5 to disappointment lol. (Not sure if that’s changed or not).

I can’t really answer the Unity pro question though, because I’m not sure if the version cycles are the same as before. E.G. Perpetual Unity 4x you own forever. It didn’t upgrade to Unity 5X… With how quickly Unity upgrades the engine now I believe it’s subscription only, but I could be wrong. So you aren’t actually ‘owning’ a ‘Perpetual license’ but rather just renting it.

But be sure - if you do monthly payments - that you can pay it, because it is a legally binding ‘contract’, or it used to be at least.

P.S. - I am not a lawyer, I’m just giving the best advice that I (personally) can for you, whether it is all accurate is not my responsibility, the best thing to know for sure is to ask Unity support.

[AndersMalmgren]

Sometimes asset store assets contain Personal license in meta files instead of the correct special store license. These load. I think info are sent to Unity however. Also I dont think the license keep you from going Plus/Pro, then if your company start to make below revenue limit you revert back to personal.

edit: Though unity have great response times on bug reporting for paid customers so wouldnt revert just because of that

[superpig]

@cindi3

IAm I able to create a game in the free Unity and then upgrade or share files between the two versions?

Yes. Note that when you move between licenses though, you should move your whole team at the same time; our EULA forbids you from ‘mixing’ free and plus/pro within your team, everybody should be on the same license tier.

Essentially I can just purchase the prepaid PRO version once and done? I own a copy of the program now no strings attached?

We no longer sell perpetual licenses for Unity, only on a subscription basis. So you can purchase a prepaid seat, and that will entitle you to use any version of Unity, but only for 1 or 2 years (depending on how long you prepaid for).

[zombiegorilla]

@superpig

Yes. Note that when you move between licenses though, you should move your whole team at the same time; our EULA forbids you from ‘mixing’ free and plus/pro within your team, everybody should be on the same license tier.

We no longer sell perpetual licenses for Unity, only on a subscription basis. So you can purchase a prepaid seat, and that will entitle you to use any version of Unity, but only for 1 or 2 years (depending on how long you prepaid for).

Just clarify and expand a bit on what superpig said, “prepaid” is not a “prepaid” version. It is the exact same version as the regular subscription version, you are just paying (pre-paying) for 1 or 2 years of the subscription (the seat). It is no different than subscribing at all, except that instead of paying 12 or 24 times, you are paying just once. Everything else is the same. (all the usual strings are still attached)

[Murgilod]

@superpig

Yes. Note that when you move between licenses though, you should move your whole team at the same time; our EULA forbids you from ‘mixing’ free and plus/pro within your team, everybody should be on the same license tier.

I feel like this question is asked frequently enough that it should be part of the frequently asked questions on the license store page.

https://store.unity.com/#plans-business