Short answer: Unity no longer charges its proposed Runtime Fee on games. The fee was canceled on September 12, 2024, and Unity says it was never applied to a new or existing game. Unity’s current cost is tied to subscription plans and financial eligibility tiers. Unreal Engine charges a 5% royalty on qualifying product revenue above $1 million in lifetime gross revenue, while sales through the Epic Games Store are royalty-free. Godot is free and open source under the MIT license, with no engine royalty or revenue threshold; you must preserve the required copyright and license notices when redistributing the engine.
The cheapest model depends on how your studio earns money, which stores you use, whether you need a commercial support contract, and how much tooling or source-code ownership you want. The comparison below uses the licensing terms and prices available on October 18, 2026; check the current legal pages before signing a plan or shipping a product.
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Unity, Unreal, and Godot at a glance
| Engine | Main payment trigger | Revenue charge | Fixed license or subscription | Store or channel treatment | Source and redistribution | Forecasting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unity | Subscription tier selected according to the project’s finances | No Runtime Fee for games | Personal, Pro, or Enterprise plan; Pro and Enterprise prices rose 5% on January 12, 2026 | No install-based game fee under the canceled policy | Terms depend on the plan and Unity version; the cited fee summary does not establish a general source-availability right | Mostly predictable subscription expense, but eligibility can change as finances move between tiers |
| Unreal Engine | Qualifying product exceeds $1 million in lifetime gross revenue | 5% of lifetime gross revenue above $1 million that is directly attributable to the product | Qualifying non-game commercial uses may require a $1,850-per-seat annual license | Epic Games Store revenue is royalty-free | Epic positions source access as a consideration for teams; redistribution and product-specific terms still apply | Predictable below the threshold; variable after it, with a major exemption for Epic Games Store sales |
| Godot | No engine revenue or funding trigger under the MIT license | No engine royalty percentage is imposed by the MIT license | No engine subscription or seat fee | You choose your own sales channels | Engine source is open; redistributed engine binaries or modified versions must retain the copyright notice and license statement | Most predictable engine cost, with compliance work for notices and third-party components |
These are engine-license costs only. Platform fees, taxes, payment processing, middleware, marketplace assets, support contracts, and staff costs are separate decisions.
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The fee was canceled, not merely reduced
Unity President and CEO Matt Bromberg announced that the company was canceling the Runtime Fee for games effective September 12, 2024. Unity states that the proposed install-based charge was never applied to any new or existing game. It should therefore not be modeled as a current per-install bill for a Unity game.
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Unity’s current terms also state that the Runtime Fee does not apply to games made with Unity 6 or earlier versions. That language is useful when reviewing a contract, but it does not revive the canceled charge: the important practical point for a game team is that Unity is not currently collecting a Runtime Fee on game installations.
Unity’s financial eligibility tiers
Your plan is determined by the project or organization’s total finances during the most recent 12-month period. The thresholds currently described by Unity are:
| Plan | Most-recent-12-month financial range | What to budget |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | Up to and including $200,000 | Personal-plan terms and limits |
| Pro | $200,001 to $24,999,999 | Pro subscription pricing |
| Enterprise | $25,000,000 or more | Enterprise pricing and terms |
The $200,000 Personal ceiling and $25,000,000 Enterprise starting point are financial-eligibility thresholds, not royalties. Crossing a threshold can require moving to another subscription plan even though Unity does not take a percentage of game revenue under the canceled Runtime Fee policy.
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The 2026 Unity price change
Unity’s pricing update says Pro and Enterprise prices increased by 5% beginning January 12, 2026. The percentage is the published change; the actual amount you pay depends on the current seat configuration, billing term, region, and any contract-specific terms. Treat the date as the start of the new price schedule, not as a one-time surcharge.
How to budget Unity
- Measure the finances Unity uses for eligibility over the most recent 12 months, rather than looking only at launch-month sales.
- Identify whether the team falls within Personal, Pro, or Enterprise.
- Apply the current subscription price and the January 12, 2026 pricing schedule to every required seat.
- Record the Unity editor version and the terms accepted for the project. Version-specific language can matter when reviewing obligations.
- Recheck the tier before major funding rounds, a successful release, or a change in organization structure.
Unity is therefore a subscription-budget decision. The cost is easier to forecast than a per-install charge, but a fast-growing studio must allow for a plan change when its financial total crosses $200,000 or $25,000,000.
Unreal Engine: how the 5% royalty works
The threshold is $1 million in lifetime gross revenue
Epic’s licensing terms make qualifying game developers free below a $1 million threshold. Once a product exceeds that threshold, Epic charges 5% on all lifetime gross revenue above $1 million that is directly attributable to the Unreal Engine product, regardless of who collects the money. The threshold is cumulative for the product’s lifetime; it is not a fresh allowance each year.
Because the royalty applies only to the amount above the threshold, a product with $1.2 million in qualifying lifetime gross revenue has a royalty base of $200,000. At 5%, that illustrative base would produce $10,000 in royalty. A product with $1.5 million above the threshold would have a $500,000 base and a $25,000 royalty. These examples show the formula; your payable amount depends on Epic’s definition of revenue directly attributable to the product and the reporting terms in your agreement.
Epic Games Store sales are exempt
Revenue generated from sales in the Epic Games Store is royalty-free under Epic’s licensing page. Keep that exemption separate from the general rule: sales through another store or channel can still count toward the product’s lifetime gross-revenue calculation, while Epic Games Store revenue is excluded from the royalty.
What “gross revenue” means for planning
Do not interpret the 5% as a fee on net profit. Epic describes the base as lifetime gross revenue directly attributable to the product, and says it applies regardless of who collects that revenue. Build your internal forecast from gross product receipts and document which transactions belong to the product. The legal definition and reporting process in the current agreement control edge cases such as bundles, licensing deals, or unusual distribution arrangements.
Commercial non-game products
Unreal’s game royalty rule is not the only commercial path. A non-game application that relies on engine code at runtime and is licensed to third-party end users uses the royalty model. Other qualifying commercial uses above $1 million in the past 12 months require a $1,850-per-seat annual license. That $1,850 figure is per seat and per year; it is not a one-time purchase and is not a game royalty.
If your product is a visualization tool, simulator, enterprise application, or another non-game use, classify it before choosing a license. The distinction between a runtime product licensed to third parties and another commercial use can change both the payment trigger and the reporting obligation.
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MIT rights cover commercial use
Godot Engine is released under the permissive MIT license. You may use it for any purpose, study and modify the engine, and commercially distribute modified or unmodified versions. The MIT license imposes no engine revenue threshold, seat subscription, or royalty percentage.
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Godot’s license terms and copyright do not apply to the content you create with the engine. You can license your game as you choose and remain the copyright owner of that content, subject to any separate rights in assets, music, code, or other third-party material.
Redistribution notices are the practical obligation
If you redistribute the Godot engine itself—such as by shipping an engine binary or a modified engine—you must preserve the copyright notice and the MIT license statement. This is a notice-and-documentation duty, not a payment trigger.
Maintain a third-party component inventory as well. A game can include libraries under licenses with requirements that differ from Godot’s MIT license. Keep those notices with the shipped software or in the location required by each component’s license.
What Godot shifts to your team
Godot removes subscription invoices and engine royalties, but your studio owns more of the support and tooling decisions. You may need to maintain an engine fork, evaluate updates, document build changes, and handle technical support internally or through a separate provider. Those are operating costs rather than charges imposed by the MIT license, so include them in a realistic budget even though the engine itself has no license fee.
Best Value
Which model is cheapest for an indie studio?
Choose Unity when subscription predictability and a commercial toolchain matter
Unity fits a studio that wants a mature commercial toolchain and can keep recurring seat subscriptions inside the applicable financial tier. A small team below $200,000 can use the Personal eligibility range; a funded or growing studio should budget for Pro once its most-recent-12-month finances exceed $200,000. There is no current game Runtime Fee to add to the launch forecast.
Choose Unreal when royalties fit the revenue curve
Unreal can be attractive when the project is unlikely to exceed $1 million in lifetime gross revenue, because the cited royalty does not begin below that threshold. It can also suit a project whose sales are concentrated in the Epic Games Store, where revenue is royalty-free. Once qualifying revenue grows above the threshold on other channels, model 5% of the excess rather than 5% of every dollar.
Choose Godot when license freedom and control outweigh tooling support
Godot is the clearest fit when you want open-source engine code, no engine royalty, and permission to modify and redistribute the engine. The trade-off is organizational: your team must manage notices, third-party license tracking, and any tooling or support work that a commercial vendor might otherwise provide.
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- Classify the product. Confirm whether it is a game, a non-game runtime application licensed to third parties, or another commercial use. Unreal’s categories are not interchangeable.
- Map every revenue channel. List stores, direct sales, subscriptions, licensing deals, and grants or funding that may affect a Unity eligibility tier or Unreal’s product-revenue calculation.
- Calculate the trigger. For Unity, test the most-recent-12-month financial total against $200,000 and $25,000,000. For Unreal, test lifetime product gross revenue against $1 million. For Godot, plan for notice compliance rather than a revenue payment.
- Separate fixed and variable costs. Record Unity seats or Unreal non-game seats as recurring fixed costs. Record Unreal royalties as a variable expense only after the threshold and exclude Epic Games Store revenue where the exemption applies.
- Check redistribution duties. Godot requires the MIT notice and copyright statement when the engine is redistributed. Other engines and middleware may impose their own terms, so keep a license register for the complete build.
- Review before launch. Re-read the current official terms, because prices, thresholds, definitions, and partner-program availability can change after your initial selection.
Common licensing mistakes
- Using the canceled Unity Runtime Fee in a forecast. It was canceled on September 12, 2024 and was never applied to games.
- Treating Unity thresholds as royalties. The $200,000 and $25,000,000 figures determine plan eligibility; they are not percentages taken from sales.
- Applying Unreal’s 5% to all sales from the first dollar. The cited rule applies to lifetime gross revenue above $1 million that is directly attributable to the product.
- Ignoring the Epic Games Store exemption. Epic Games Store revenue is royalty-free, so channel-level modeling matters.
- Confusing Unreal’s $1,850 seat license with the game royalty. The per-seat annual license concerns qualifying commercial non-game uses, not the general game royalty formula.
- Assuming “free” means no compliance work in Godot. Redistributed engine code still needs the copyright notice and MIT license statement, and third-party components may add notices.
- Checking terms only at prototype time. Unity’s subscription tier can change as finances grow, and Unreal’s royalty can begin years after launch when lifetime revenue crosses the threshold.
Bottom line for 2026 planning
Unity’s Runtime Fee is not a current game charge. Budget Unity as a subscription product whose Personal, Pro, and Enterprise eligibility depends on recent finances, with a 5% Pro and Enterprise price increase effective January 12, 2026. Budget Unreal as a 5% royalty on qualifying lifetime gross revenue above $1 million, while excluding Epic Games Store revenue and considering the separate $1,850-per-seat annual path for qualifying non-game commercial uses. Budget Godot as a no-royalty, open-source engine whose costs are documentation, third-party license tracking, and the tooling responsibility your team chooses to take on.
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