Feels like only yesterday when Unity 4.6 ditched the beta tag, and now here we are, less than six months later, with the release of Unity 5.0 upon us. Great time to be a developer for sure. Even more so, since this version – among other things – brings a brand new business model; Professional (monthly subscription) for large studios, and Personal (free) for smaller teams.
But surely there must be some kind of catch, right? Well, yes and no. The main differences are actually found in the ‘extras’, as it were. Personal Edition users won’t have access to things like access to previews/betas, Game Performance Reporting, and Unity Analytics Pro, for starters. They will, however, be able to fully utilize both engine and editor, fueling their project(s) with the power of Unity 5. Oh, and there’s a $100.000 revenue ceiling on Personal Edition (hence, for smaller teams).
Even so, it’s still a sweet deal, in that it lets smaller teams/hobbyists/solo developers get into the world of game development without shelling out a single cent. Then, if at some point the need to upgrade arises, we’re looking at $75/month or $1500 for a lifetime subscription. Simple, really.
What’s significantly less simple, however, is the “what’s new in Unity 5?” bit, as my programming lingo is rusty at best. As such, might I recommend paying the Unity 5 website a visit instead to check the goods yourself? There is plenty of documentation available too, as well as a thriving community. Time to make a game or two!
(Source: Unity3D blog)
