Havok reduces licensing fee for studios with budgets below $20 million

Microsoft bets on accessibility to boost new productions with Havok Physics and Navigation

Amid a challenging scenario for the gaming industry, Havok, a subsidiary of Microsoft, announced a major change in its licensing policy. Now, studios with a budget of less than $20 million for their projects will pay a fixed fee of only $50,000 per game to access the company's technologies, such as Havok Physics and Havok Navigation.

The change aims to make physics and navigation tools more accessible to smaller developers, allowing more independent studios to integrate the same technologies used by some of the industry's biggest franchises.

No royalties and full compatibility with Unreal Engine

The new licensing model is simple and straightforward: no royalties and available to any studio whose game budget does not exceed $20 million. In addition, developers will be able to take advantage of plug-ins for Havok Physics and Havok Navigation for the Unreal Engine, ensuring full integration with Epic Games' engine.

This means that small and medium teams will be able to use the full range of Havok features, modifying and adapting the plugins of the Unreal Engine to better meet the needs of their projects. The new policy will allow these titles to be released on consoles, PC, and mobile, ensuring access to the latest Havok technology throughout the development process.

Havok's biggest price cut in the last five years

In an interview with GamesBeat, David Coughlan, general manager of Havok, stated that this is the company's biggest pricing model change in half a decade. The decision comes as a direct response to the current challenging environment faced by smaller developers.

"Technology can really bring these game worlds to life and inject dynamics into the environment," commented Coughlan. "But we are aware that it is a tough time for the industry. We have seen expansions and contractions before, and whenever that happens, there is an evolution in the sector. Today, we see smaller studios, with teams of dozens of employees, but with great ambitions. They are trying to achieve triple-A quality, and we want to ensure that these teams have access to our tools."

Havok wants to boost the next generation of indie games

By drastically reducing the licensing cost and offering direct integration with Unreal Engine, Havok is clearly betting on independent and medium studios as part of the industry's future.

With this new policy, ambitious mid-budget titles will be able to use Havok Physics and Havok Navigation to create more dynamic and immersive worlds, without the burden of exorbitant fees. Whether this change will pave the way for new iconic franchises or the next big indie phenomenon, only time will tell. But one thing is certain: more studios now have the chance to compete with industry giants.