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Unity developer support tops 170,000 as platform turns 5

Platform claims to be #1 engine on the market

Unity developer support tops 170,000 as platform turns 5

A lot has changed in the world of mobile games in the past 10 years and that's something we're considering as we repost PocketGamer.biz articles from the past decade.

This week, we consider the first five years of game development tech Unity. 

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[June 7th, 2010 - 04:40pm]

Raising the curtains on this year's WWDC later today not only opens up the prospect of Apple announcements aplenty, but it also marks the fifth anniversary of Unity's development platform.

The platform made its public debut at WWDC 2005 and, as such, it's no surprise Unity Technologies is using this milestone to indulge in something of a stats fest.

Indeed, the company claims more than 170,000 developers are now on board across its spectrum of mobile, console, PC, Mac, and web support.

Uniting the iDevices

However, it's the engine's prevalence on iPhone and iPad that seems to be driving much of this growth, with the company claiming to be 'by far the leading fame technology' on both formats.

"We put very polished and productive tools ahead of bleeding edge engine technology, created a very simple, clean and approachable licensing model for the masses and made an early bet on web and mobile before it was clear they would be gaming devices," comments CEO David Helgason.

"In just five years since its introduction, Unity has gone from bedroom geekery to truly mainstream.

"We thrive on innovating and heavily reinvest in development to keep moving and growing at a radical pace so we can continue to raise the bar for innovation and continue to amaze our customers."
 
Skee-Ball success

In total, 10-20 percent of the top selling Unity games are for iPhone, with 1,000 titles in total sitting on the App Store - a jump of 400 games in two months.

The firm also believes it's the most widely-used middleware in games for the App Store.

It's no surprise that the mobile apps that make use of its middleware make up most of its success stories, with the likes of Zombieville USA and Skee-Ball - which Distimo recently revealed was the #1 iPhone game for 24 days - making its list of achievements.


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With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.