Sony Computer Entertainment and Unity Technologies have extended their strategic partnership, enabling PlayStation game developers to get more access to Unity’s game engine tools at no additional cost.
The deal is an important one for Unity, which we hear makes the bulk of its revenues in deals with platform owners, who pay the engine maker to support their platforms and thereby bring more game developers to the platforms. The companies did not disclose the terms of the agreement, which was made on the eve of the Tokyo Game Show event in Japan. We wrote earlier that Unity is up for sale, and any new business deals that the company announces will be magnified in importance because of that. Unity has declined comment on being up for sale.
Sony and Unity said they will offer Unity Pro for PlayStation for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita at no additional cost to all PlayStation-licensed developers. Sony and Unity originally entered into a strategic partnership in March 2013 to provide Unity for PlayStation. Developers will now get access to Unity’s premier game development tools without paying extra licensing fees.
“We are very happy to begin offering Unity for our PlayStation platforms at no additional cost to developers,” said Teiji Yutaka, a senior vice president at the R&D Division of Sony Computer Entertainment, in a statement. “Some of the most exciting and high quality games are being created in the vibrant indie community. We’re happy to help ensure all developers have the same opportunities to create wonderful new experiences for our powerful PlayStation platforms.”
Many Unity-authored games are already released or in development among Sony developers, including Assault Android Cactus, BroForce, CounterSpy, Deemo, Galak-Z, Night in the Woods, Oddworld: New ‘N’ Tasty, Shiftlings, Starwhal: Just the Tip, The Golf Club, and TorqueL.
“We’re already seeing amazing Unity-authored games coming out, as well as many more that are in production, for all of the PlayStation platforms,” said David Helgason, the CEO of San Francisco-based Unity Technologies, in a statement. “This is an exciting step to make this clear and easy, and to guarantee that developers using Unity have a fantastic opportunity to participate in the PlayStation developer community.”
Helgason spoke about a variety of topics onstage at our GamesBeat 2014 conference. Unity’s mission is to “democratize game development,” or make it easier for small teams or even individuals to develop and publish their games across many platforms. Its Unity 3D engine has been a key component of the indie movement in the gaming industry, which large corporations typically dominate. Unity’s identity is tied up in the belief that indie developers are inherently more diverse and creative than teams working for gigantic companies. It has been increasingly successful as the indies have succeeded on new kinds of platforms like iOS and Android, where developers can sell their games directly to the masses without going through publishers.