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If i was starting a multi-year, potentially billion-dollar project right now, what has unity done to guarantee my project won't be axed because of their greed?

If i was starting a multi-year, potentially billion-dollar project right now, what has unity done to guarantee my project won't be axed because of their greed? Personally, i'd expect them to actually not change TOS for a given version ever, enabling me to at least have the safety net of never updating the engine, but they removed that guarantee from the TOS. This isn't a SaaS app used to sync your photos we're talking about, this is the underlying tech for massive swathes of some people's entire lives. This is like saying "you can't really expect linux TOS to never change for future versions" (pretend that makes sense). Like yeah they might be subject to change, but as someone basing my entire work on it, i am making the bet that i will continue to be able to do that, and unity has just showed that not only they can change it, but that they will, without hesitation and possibly retroactively.

qwytw 3y ago
I can't and I won't in any way justify the retroactive part (even though they seemingly promised not to do that again, they already made the same promise a couple of years ago..). But I'm not quite sure I understand your overall argument. Are you saying that if you release any type of software you're should never be allowed to change the TOS in subsequent version? e.g. Windows 11 should have exactly the same TOS as Windows 95?
- Scarblac 3y ago
  No, he's saying he expects the Windows 95 TOS not to change, so you have the option of staying on 95 if you don't like the 11 TOS. But they don't promise that.
  - qwytw 3y ago
    They said that the fee will only apply to games made with the new version. from their website: > What are you changing in the terms? > The last changes were made on April 3, 2023. We will make sure that you can stay on the terms applicable for the version of Unity you are using as long as you keep using that version. We will post these changes on our GitHub repository and https://unity.com/legal https://unity.com/legal. They already were caught changing terms retroactively a few years ago and created that repo back then. They silently deleted it last(?) year... So it seems they do promise that (whatever their promise is worth is another question..)
    - Scarblac 3y ago
      It's better to reply that to him, I was just clarifying his comment.
    - themoonisachees 3y ago
      An they had language in their TOS to reflect that, but they removed it (before the current fiasco). They also removed the github repo they're talking about. Then again they've shown their word is worthless and that they will break promises. No point in crying over spilled milk.

qwytw 3y ago

I can't and I won't in any way justify the retroactive part (even though they seemingly promised not to do that again, they already made the same promise a couple of years ago..). But I'm not quite sure I understand your overall argument. Are you saying that if you release any type of software you're should never be allowed to change the TOS in subsequent version? e.g. Windows 11 should have exactly the same TOS as Windows 95?

Scarblac 3y ago
No, he's saying he expects the Windows 95 TOS not to change, so you have the option of staying on 95 if you don't like the 11 TOS. But they don't promise that.
- qwytw 3y ago
  They said that the fee will only apply to games made with the new version. from their website: > What are you changing in the terms? > The last changes were made on April 3, 2023. We will make sure that you can stay on the terms applicable for the version of Unity you are using as long as you keep using that version. We will post these changes on our GitHub repository and https://unity.com/legal https://unity.com/legal. They already were caught changing terms retroactively a few years ago and created that repo back then. They silently deleted it last(?) year... So it seems they do promise that (whatever their promise is worth is another question..)
  - Scarblac 3y ago
    It's better to reply that to him, I was just clarifying his comment.
  - themoonisachees 3y ago
    An they had language in their TOS to reflect that, but they removed it (before the current fiasco). They also removed the github repo they're talking about. Then again they've shown their word is worthless and that they will break promises. No point in crying over spilled milk.