For those who came in late, Unity had a go at forcing game developers using its engine pay a king’s ransom for its use. This led to a boycott.

Not only is GameMaker not going down that route, it is also "eliminating its indie/creator tier monthly subscription fee in favour of a one-time paid licensing fee of $99."

"Additionally, if developers are enrolled at the indie/creator tier and wish to pay the licensing fee, the subscription fees you've paid will be discounted from the price."

GameMaker head Russell Kay said that the changes were a way for the company to express its thanks to users, explaining that, since 2021, GameMaker has seen its user base triple in size.

Kay pointed out that it noted other platforms “making awkward moves” with their pricing and terms, so GameMaker thought, “What if we did the opposite, something that could be good for developers?"

Customers currently enrolled in an enterprise-level subscription will see no changes to their plans, it seems like GameMaker is counting on the pricing update to draw more people to the software.

"The number of people making games measure our success," Kay said.