Will Pokemon GO shift to a new engine? Exploring possible alternatives after Unity’s latest announcement

Pokemon GO, along with many other major titles like Subnautica, Monument Valley, Rust, etc., were developed using the Unity engine. This is a software that allows developers to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional video games for different platforms. Whether you play titles on your PC, console, or mobile device, you have probably come across an offering that was made using Unity.

This article will offer a look at the newly modified billing system announced by Unity, how it is going to affect the future of Pokemon GO, and whether this title will employ a different engine.

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How will Unity’s new license model affect Pokemon GO?

Unity engine change of a plain cost montly license cost to a new model based on per-game installs across any Unity-supported game platform. Niantic have until january 01/24 to move PoGo a new motor engine like ingress in the past or start to pay the new fee for every install byu/milotic03 inTheSilphRoad

Recently, Unity introduced a massive change that altered its billing mechanic. In its new licensing model, instead of a monthly billing system, developers that use this software will now have to pay a fee every time their games are installed.

This new policy is going to be imposed on every title that uses Unity as its engine. Niantic has made Pokemon GO on it, and this title's developers will probably have to pull their socks up if they want to avoid unprecedented expenses.

This is why GO might get shifted to a new game engine. On the other hand, Niantic might continue using Unity but impose microtransactions on players to compensate for the additional costs. Either way, this studio will have to hike the prices of items to compensate for their new expenses.

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How will Unity’s new license model affect Pokemon GO players?

Given the new pricing system, Niantic will probably have to improve their existing game to eliminate the need for repeated installs, that is, if they decide to continue using Unity. However, it's unclear if reinstalls will be considered as fresh installs.

That said, players' main concern is whether this new pricing model will increase the gameplay cost in GO.

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Will Unity’s new licensing increase the cost of playing Pokemon GO?

If you are a free-to-play player, you need not worry about the increase in the cost of items that you must obtain through microtransactions. However, if you like to spend money to buy premium items to improve your in-game experience, Unity's new billing system might be a bit concerning for you.

If Niantic chooses to stick with Unity, it might be forced to increase the price of certain items in the in-game shop — PokeCoins, Premium Raid Passes, Special Boxes, Research Tickets, and more will probably see a hike if that happens.

Niantic might even introduce Season Passes in GO to compensate for the added expenses because of Unity's new licensing model.

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Will Niantic shift Pokemon GO from Unity to a different game engine?

Shifting an almost decade-old game to a brand-new game engine can be insanely expensive for Niantic. Even if it utilizes assets from that software, writing the code for a new engine from scratch will be a mammoth obstacle. It will cost the developers a lot of time and money. This is a big reason why Niantic might stick to using Unity.

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What is Unity’s new license model?

Unity will now charge a Royalty Fee on top of the already existing subscription fee. Developers that have made between $200,000 and $1,000,000 in the past year and seen 200,000 and 1,000,000 lifetime installations of their Unity-developed games will be liable for this Royalty Fee.

According to the new licensing model, this software will charge anywhere between $0.005 to $0.20 for every install.

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Alternative game engines that Niantic could use for Pokemon GO other than Unity

• Blender
• 3DS Max Design
• KeyShot
• Cinema4D
• Maya
• Unreal Engine

These are a few options that Niantic has at hand.

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Since Niantic had to shift one of its previous games, Ingress, to a new engine, one could expect a similar fate for Pokémon GO. However, fans must wait for an official announcement to see how things pan out for this iconic title.

You can read more about Unity's new plan here.