Developers measure success by the number of consumers their titles attract, and, in turn, middleware is rated by the level of support those same developers offer up.

As such, Unity Technology's claim to have doubled its developer base to more than 500,000 in little over 6 months is a testament to the platform's health.

The firm reports that, of that half a million, 150,000 such studios qualify as monthly active users.

Massive on mobile

In all, developers are collectively clocking up over a million hours of Unity development each and every month.

That's a rate that's resulted in 1,500 Unity powered iOS games reaching the App Store, including the likes of Battleheart, Gears, Samurai II, Skee-Ball and Snuggle Truck.

Android benefits too, of course, with more than 100 games hitting the platform since support for the OS was added in March. 

Both Xperia Play and BlackBerry's PlayBook will also pick up Unity releases, this time delivered through Union – the firm's business unit created to focus on the development of high-quality 3D releases.

Platform power

According to CEO David Helgason, it's the engine's ability to appeal to all manner of developers, working on games for completely contrasting genres and platforms, that has enabled it to extend its reach in such a quick manner.

"The combination of Unity's powerful yet approachable technology has resulted in it being the #1 game engine used for both traditional and casual games," said Helgason.

"It's exciting to see how our users build on top of Unity to create mind blowing innovation of their own."

Unity's success isn't limited to smartphones and tablets, however. The firm's web browser plugin has now been installed more than 60 million times.

The first Unity powered PS3 game is also expected later this year.