Unity Technologies just released its new Unity In-App Purchasing Software Development Kit (Unity IAP SDK) 5.4 update, which allows developers to offer players direct web-based purchases alongside traditional in-app purchases, potentially reducing the infamously high fees paid to app stores (such as Google Play and Apple’s App Store) where platform policies allow.
The update introduces two “direct-to-consumer” (D2C) features that are now generally available.
The first are in-game web payment flows that allow players to purchase in-game items using a web payment layer (without leaving the game) instead of an app store billing. The Unity engine provides devs with the tools to meet app store compliance requirements so they can sell off-platform.
The second is a free webshop builder found in the Unity Dashboard, which allows devs to create their own “no-code webshop.” Those who can’t be bothered can also make use of an AI chatbot to refine their webshop design for them.
Once a webshop has been set up, devs can use payment providers like Stripe and Coda to process purchases, handle compliance issues, and detect fraudulent transactions. All revenue data can be tracked in the Unity Dashboard, where D2C transaction data can easily be sent to ad networks. An important note is that Unity does not charge anything to create or use a webshop. However, processing fees for payment providers will be set by each provider.
Those are just the features at launch. In the future, UIAP will include new payment providers (like Stash), webshop enhancements that include the ability to add personalized monetization experiences for each player, price and promotion experimentation across different players and markets, cross-engine support, and enhanced ads user acquisition and monetization.
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