Unity will be free of charge to all Xbox One developers

Unity today revealed that it has expanded its previous agreement with Microsoft, such that all developers registered with the ID@Xbox program will be able to grab the Unity Xbox One deployment add-on for free. ID@Xbox is the self-publishing program for the Xbox One. Previously, the plan was to offer Unity's Xbox One deployment for free to Microsoft Studios developers only -- however, that has changed as of today. In a blog post, Unity CEO David Helgason explained that a new agreement has been reached, and now all indie developers who sign up to the ID@Xbox program will be able to add Xbox One deployment to their existing Unity license. A special Xbox One version of the Unity Pro tools will also be made available to ID@Xbox indie developers for no extra cost, Helgason noted. The free tools will be made available the moment that Unity support for Xbox One launches in 2014. Microsoft's director of ID@Xbox Chris Charla added that this free Unity license "supports every element of Xbox One, from Kinect to SmartGlass to the impulse triggers of the new controller," while adding that this free license also applies to Windows Phone and Windows 8 store games. The deal is similar to that which Unity already has in place with Nintendo for its Wii U console.