Unity User Base Reaches 33,500 In Wake Of Free License

Unity Technologies' decision to offer a free license of its popular Unity engine is paying off: the company says that less than two weeks after it announced the plan, its overall Unity user base has more than doubled. There are now some 33,500 registered developers for the multiplatform engine, up 158 percent over the count prior to this year's Unite conference in San Francisco. The announcement of Unity's free license was formally made at the event, alongside news that the company would support Xbox 360 in addition to its current PC, Mac, iPhone, and Wii versions. The conference itself reportedly saw an attendance increase of 125 percent, although a hard headcount was not provided. "The step we took to finally make Unity free was so logical," Unity CEO David Helgason said in a statement. "It remains our mission to take something as advanced as Unity and make it available to everyone." Prior to last month's announcement, Helgason told Gamasutra Unity had over 13,000 registered users. At the time, he revealed that Unity's $200 Indie package, which was replaced by the new license, "isn't generating a significant portion of our revenue," making the decision to offer a free option easier. "Whether that becomes a cash flow positive or a cash flow negative -- and some people will upgrade -- is not really important," he said. "What's important is to get this in the hands of as many people as possible." Unity is currently in version 2.6, which launched simultaneously with the free release of the engine.