Unity will release version 6 in 2024 with AI tools and Runtime Fee pricing model
Unity has announced Unity 6. This version of the game engine will be released in 2024 and will include the Runtime Fee pricing model. In addition, the generative AI tools Muse and Sentis are generally released in this version.
Unity claims that the Muse tool should make it easier for developers to create games, including by giving them a chatbot with which they can, for example, generate code and 2D sprites using text prompts. It is also possible to describe character interactions, after which Muse automatically generates behavior trees, and to outsource the animating of ‘human characters’ to the tool. Unity promises that Muse creates “safe and original assets” and that “if anyone claims that your Muse-generated assets violate copyright, we will personally defend you.” This feature comes at an additional cost of $30 per month and should become generally available in spring 2024. The feature has been available in early access since this week.
The second tool, Sentis, can be used to integrate AI models into Runtime for use in games and applications. These models are run locally and, according to Unity, can be used, among other things, for ‘smart, interactive NPCs’. For example, players could talk to the computer-controlled characters, after which their dialogue would be generated on the spot. Developers do not have to worry about the costs of cloud computing or latency, Unity says. Sentis is now available in open beta, but should become generally available as part of Unity 6 next year. Unlike Muse, no additional charge is charged for this.
In addition to the AI features, this will be the first version of the game engine with the Runtime Fee pricing model, which was announced earlier this year and met with much resistance. Under that model, developers using the Unity engine would have to pay up to 20 cents for each new installation of their game, provided they meet certain revenue and download criteria. After many developers reacted negatively to this change, Unity adjusted the model. Existing Unity projects are excluded and studios can also choose to pay 2.5 percent of their game turnover, instead of paying per installation.
Unity 6 also includes support for the WebGPU browser API, making it possible to run Unity games ‘anywhere on the web’. This allows the games to be run in a web view in native apps or a browser, among other things, according to the game company. Finally, this version includes Unity Cloud, a set of cohesive tools that should make it easier to “connect and streamline workflows.”
Despite the name, this is not so much the direct successor to Unity 5 from 2015. In recent years, new versions of the game engine have been given the name of the year in which they were released. The most recently released version is 2022.3. It is unclear why the company is now switching back to the old numbering. It has not yet been announced what date Unity 6 will be released next year.
Unity Cloud