Unity 3D's Big Android and iOS Announcement

Unity 3D is a powerful 3D game design and development engine. Here at Studica, we have delivered many of webinars discussing Unity3d applications for education. Recently, Unity took a big leap with their software and officially made iOS and Android publishing free for Unity 3D users. It’s worth noting that this is available not only for Unity Pro users but Unity Free users as well. You do not have to pay any licensing or royalty fees to Unity for using the software or building out to Android and iOS. Keep in mind If you wish to publish your work to the Android or Apple App Store, then you will need to adhere to their specific rules and regulations. But Unity will not ask anything of you unless you are a business that makes more than $100,000 a year. If you are an independent video game designer or, better yet, a student game maker, you are allowed to utilize the new licensing free of charge. You would even be allowed to publish to the app stores with your work if you want to. You keep all the rights to your work.

How Unity 3D Free Mobile Licensing Works

So how does it work? Well, if you already have Unity game engine installed, you just need to run an update and the newest version will include the ability to build to Android and iOS. Bear in mind that you can only develop for iOS if you are running Unity on a Mac. Information on Unity licensing.

Benefits for Education

To all of the teachers out there; this is a great opportunity for you and your students. We’ve already discussed the benefits of Game Design when it comes to STEM Education. And now that Unity is including the ability for iOS and Android publishing at no extra charge, this opens up many doors for students. Let’s face it, students have no money. Buying Unity 3D or paying extra for the ability to publish to the widely used App Stores is a major obstacle for students. Now that these licenses are free, it means that students who work hard and create something unique and entertaining can publish their iOS and Android directly onto the Android and Apple App Stores. In the modern age of the smartphone and tablet device, this represents a huge potential market for any video game developer. Many indie developers and even large game studios are making large amounts of dollars through the portable device market. Now your students can get in on it without having to pay anything up front for the development tools.

Bear in mind that if you teach this game development platform at a school, you still need to have an Unity 4 Pro Education software in your classrooms to stay in compliance with Unity. However, if your students want to use the software at home in their free time to develop a game, then there is nothing stopping them from downloading Unity and getting started. Keep in mind that Unity offers an all in one resource to help you learn Unity 3D to create video games and more that includes articles, tutorials and more. If you are a student, teacher or school; be sure to check out Unity's  discounted education software.

Unity doesn’t appear to be stopping with iOS and Android publishing. In the coming months, they made it clear that they are adding the ability to publish to Blackberry 10 and Windows Phone 8. So be on the lookout in the coming months.