The just-revealed Slay the Spire II won’t be running on Unity, according to developer Mega Crit.
After its trailer ran during the Triple-I showcase, a representative told IGN the developer had indeed switched away from the previous game’s engine. Instead, the studio is using Godot for the sequel.
Last year, Unity became embroiled in controversy due to changes with its Runtime Fee policy. Several indie developers spoke against the changes (sometimes vulgarly), and many threatened to abandon the engine entirely.
Mega Crit was one such studio, calling Unity’s actions “a violation of trust.” At the time, it said it’d made much of Slay the Spire II in Unity, but would still migrate to a different engine if Unity stuck to its guns.
Slaying spires with Godot
During the controversy, the open-source Godot advertised itself as a free alternative to Unity. It even went so far as to start up a development fund to sustain itself ahead of a potential widespread shift from Unity.
Godot also benefits from being cross-platform, and more recent updates let developers test their project on its intended device.
While Unity later established less controversial policy changes, the damage was done. Mega Crit committing to Godot reflects the fractured developer/engine-maker relationship, and puts Godot in a new position as a viable engine for other developers.