Unity has revised its terms of service (TOS) to ensure developers can use any third party service that integrates into Unity.
The change is in response to the engine maker’s dispute with SpatialOS creator Improbable, and means the company is no longer in breach of Unity’s TOS, Unity said in a blog.
It appears to be good news for devs who rely on SpatialOS to run the online multiplayer side of their projects, although Unity has still distanced itself from Improbable, explaining it “cannot vouch for how their service works with Unity as we have no insight into their technology.”
“Today’s change in our TOS means Improbable is no longer in breach by providing you a service, and that we are able to reinstate their licenses,” said Unity.
“We know Improbable was in violation even before the December TOS update and misrepresented their affiliation with us. Although SpatialOS is not a supported third-party service, it can continue to be used for development and shipping games.”
Unity also said it will let developers who don’t upgrade their projects stick with the same TOS agreement they accepted when they signed up, allowing them to avoid any potentially undesirable changes.
The company has also pledged to host any TOS changes on Github in a bid to be completely transparent about what changes are happening, and when.
“When you make a game with Unity, you own the content and you should have the right to put it wherever you want. Our TOS didn’t reflect this principle — something that is not in line with who we are,” explained the company.
“Our TOS update on December 5 was an attempt to define what our terms mean for the cloud and an opportunity to make our business model clearer. After listening to developers, we realized how this language came across, and how it would impact your ability to choose.”
Unity is holding an ‘ask me anything’ session on Reddit today at 10am PST to discuss the changes, but you can find out more right now over on the Unity blog.