Earlier this month, Unity announced controversial changes that have frustrated developers and publishers throughout the video game industry. Feedback to these changes has been universally negative, with many developers promising to move on to a different engine for future games. The reaction was so bad that Unity has started to make adjustments to win back studios, but the damage is already done. Developer Neognosis has officially cancelled the Nintendo Switch version of BallisticNG, directly attributing the decision to what's currently happening at Unity. The "overwhelmingly positive" game will still see support on Steam, but a Switch version is no longer planned.
"It comes with much frustration and disappointment that we're announcing the cancellation of the Switch version. Several years of development has gone into preparing BallisticNG technically for the port while maintaining the usual output of updates for the PC version, so this comes as a big kick in the balls to both us and everybody else who was excited for this version of the game. We're sorry that it has turned out this way, and we'll be looking at working with the console (or the rumoured Switch 2) in a future project not bound by Unity," Neognosis wrote in a post on the game's Steam page.
Unity Changes
Revealed on September 12th, Unity was planning to make several big changes to its terms of service starting on January 1st. The most controversial change was a runtime fee, which would have charged developers every time that a game was installed by players. Studios like inXile Entertainment and Aggro Crab both blasted the change, noting the monumental impact it could have on their earnings.
While Unity has backtracked on many of the most controversial changes, it's clear that a lot of studios are still skeptical about the future. Neognosis states in its blog post that they "currently have no confidence that they won't try pulling another move or pushing back to their original plans under / beyond this new TOS." Neognosis is not the only studio saying this, and many developers are starting to look at a future without Unity.
Nintendo Switch 2
As Neognosis mentions in its blog post, a new Nintendo console is reportedly coming in the second half of 2024. The new system has been tentatively referred to by gaming companies and the media as the "Nintendo Switch 2," and will apparently offer the same portability and TV play popularized by Nintendo Switch. While Nintendo has made no official announcement, March will mark the seventh anniversary of the company's current hardware. That's a long lifespan for a video game console, and it's hard to imagine Nintendo waiting too much longer to release a new system. If it truly is coming out in mid-2024, it's likely we'll see some kind of an announcement early next year; Nintendo has stated there will be a shorter wait time between announcement and release than there was with Switch.
Were you looking forward to the Nintendo Switch version of BallisticNG? Do you think more games will be cancelled as a result of Unity's changes? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
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