Questions about the Licences before indulging in

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  • Hello everyone! :)

    I’m a long-time user of C2 and I’m on the verge of switching to C3 for my ongoing and future projects. However, I have several critical questions about the License system of C3 that need clarifying before I make the jump in good conscience. I hope you can help me understand.

    Sorry if these points are cleared somewhere else on the Scirra website, either I haven’t found where or I’ve misunderstood something.

    Personal situation:

    I’m a French individual and I plan to release a construct game on Steam soon.

    To prepare for this I’ve declared myself an “auto-entrepreneur” or “individual-entrepreneur”. Right now, I’m declaring a revenue of 0€ / month, but this way I’ll be ready when my game releases.

    I suppose I’ll have to start with the Business Startup License instead of the personal license. I don’t see too much of a problem with that, since an extra 50€ is not that big a difference.

    I have questions about what comes after that.

    First Question: Startup License revenue cap

    I read two different things about the Startup License.

    • On the product page it says: “Total lifetime company revenue is less than $50,000 USD […]”
    • On the Terms of Use if says: “Only business where annual revenue is or is forecast/expected to be less than $50,000 USD […] are permitted to purchase the discounted Startup Business license.”

    To me Lifetime is different than Annual / Yearly, but I’m probably translating this wrong?

    Let’s say I earn $25,000 in 2020 and $25,000 in 2021, am I still allowed to use the Startup License or do I have to switch to the full price Business one because I have accrued $50,000+ during my business’ whole life?

    Second Question: upgrade timing

    Let’s say I purchase the Startup License and use it to release my first game. Amazing: I end up making more than expected, say $60,000 in 2020.

    Do I have to switch to the Business license as soon as the 50,000 cap is broken, even if the Startup license is not really over? Or am I only compelled to upgrade when I renew my subscription?

    Third Question: downgrade timing

    Similar question as previously but in the other direction.

    Let’s say for the sake of example:

    • In 2020 I make $60,000 with my first game and upgrade to Business License (although it depends of previous question)
    • I plan to release another game in 2022
    • This means 2021 is a quiet year and I plan to make much less money during this period. Let’s say $0 even.

    Can I downgrade from Business License to startup license to account for this slower year?

    If yes, when do I do it?

    • At the end of 2020 when I can show revenues have almost halted and I don’t plan to release another game in 2021?
    • At the end of 2021 when I can prove I have not received any money this year?

    Last Question: Halting development

    A last very important question to me: what happens if/when I decide to stop developing new games, but I still want to let my games on Steam, either because they still bring a little revenue, or for my portfolio’s sake?

    My business would have zero use of Construct 3 at this point, would need zero seat. Yet do I need to purchase a yearly license for as long as my games are online and earning money (even if it’s just pennies) thus bringing the need to “take down” my games when they are not profitable enough?

    This would feel weird to pay a yearly license ad vitam eternam at a deficit just to have my games stay online, but I want to be sure.

    That was quite the block of text, sorry for that. I’m that close to becoming a C3 customer, but obviously I’m more cautious now that the system is subscription based instead of a one-shot purchase ^^

    Thanks A LOT for your answers

    And a happy new year to y’all! <3

  • Slighly off topic here.. If you believe your game will earn $25,000 - $60,000 yearly then the license fee will be your least concern ;)

    (You do not need to take down your games if you decide to not extend your license, but you will not be able to update them)

    Looking forward to see your game!

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  • Haha yes, indeed, but still it would ease my mind to know exactly what the processes are ^^

    Even if I earn less, at one point it might be necessary to upgrade (depending if the revenue taken into account is Yearly or "Lifetime"), at another point it might be necessary to downgrade and / or stop, so I'd rather have all these answers in the back of my mind.

    (You do not need to take down your games if you decide to not extend your license, but you will not be able to update them)

    That would answer my fourth question, thanks! So a license provides a seat to work on the game, but it is not correlated to the actual marketing of the game (like a "right to sell")

    Looking forward to see your game!

    Thanks for the cheers ! I will make sure to announce it in the forum when it is ready :)

  • According to the situation you are describing, auto-entrepreneur being a company made of a single person, you would indeed aim at the Business plan.

    An upgrade happens on subscription renewal, or you can always cancel your plan at any time and order a new one.

    Could you please let me know the URL for "Terms of use" and the line you are quoting from there ?

    The pricing page clearly states : "your businesses lifetime revenue". This puts downgrade out of the question.

    For your last question, see our FAQ :

    When my license expires, can I continue selling my games?

    Yes. If you published your game with a properly licensed version then you decide to cancel your license, you can continue to make money from your games.

    If however you need to edit or republish your games, or launch your games on new platforms you will need a valid license from us again.

  • Thank you Kyatric !

    It all started with one of your tutorials for me, so thanks all the more ;)

    Upgrade at renewal, gotcha. It's easy to manage, then.

    You confirmed you can still sell games after the subscription expired, great.

    Could you please let me know the URL for "Terms of use" and the line you are quoting from there ?

    Here is the page with the terms of use I've quoted (updated in December 2019 so pretty recent) :

    construct.net/en/store/terms-and-conditions

    Look at Part 7. Construct 3 Licensing

    It does clearly state annual revenue there, thus putting back downgrading on the menu. To me it feels the most logical that it's yearly, I hope it's not cumulative), although like fredriksthlm said, at that point maybe I won't care that much, it's hard to say.

    So far this all appears friendlier than I expected at first glance, so that's great :)

  • Thanks for the link, indeed there is possible confusion going on there.

    I provided your concerns to Tom who will likely clarify things and correct on the website following.

    Bonjour chez vous ^^

  • Merci :)

    Can Tom post here as well tom confirm the change when it's done ?

  • Thanks for spotting this. The store terms and conditions are correct - and the product page is wrong. This will be fixed in the next update.

    In summary, you can buy the Startup Business license if:

    • Your annual revenue is or is forecast to be less than $50,000 USD (or equivalent in other currencies)
    • AND net assets are less than $100,000 USD (or equivalent in other currencies)

    If you're projecting >$50,000 revenue for the year at any point - you must buy/upgrade to a business license.

  • Thank you Tom, this clears the last remaining points then.

    I'll go the Startup Plan route for now and if at any point I'm successful enough to make 50K a year I'll be more than happy to give some of it back to Scirra and upgrade to Business.

    Cheers to everybody who answered!

    As for me I'll bid farewell to C2 ^^

  • Hey guys! I wanted to check quickly if the correction had been done, and I noticed it was the case in the English version, although there's a little typo :

    When you scroll down it is correctly explained again afterwards:

    However the French Translation has not been corrected and still says it is "total lifetime revenues" that need to be checked.

    Especially when you scroll down and it is very specifically said "Depuis sa création" (="since its creation") between parenthesis.

    You should do a review of all translations available so that all say the same thing on the subject if possible :)

    See you

  • Thanks Samuel, I've made the modifications to the translations, hopefully they should appear pretty soon.

    Good luck with Puppy Cross and keep up the good work with Lola, I've been subscribed to your youtube channel for a while and have followed the videos you publish with interest.

  • Thank you Kyatric! Glad you find them interesting! :D

    We've come a long way although we're still newbies compared to a lot of people here ^^

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