Licenses

When I purchased Visionaire Studio 5 in April 2022, I was of the understanding that the license allowed me to  produce both freeware and commercial games for desktop and, if I wished to produce a commercial game for android, then I would need to obtain an additional license for that one game.

I note that in the license descriptions on the website that a fee is now payable for commercial release of any game. When did this change? Am I now restricted to producing only freeware with my license?

Hi matty47,

thanks for your message and for reaching out!

To clarify: there has been no retroactive change to the license terms. If you purchased a regular Visionaire Studio 5 license in April 2022, you're still allowed to develop and publish both freeware and commercial games for desktop platforms.

For commercial mobile games (e.g. Android or iOS), a separate export license has always been required – this applies per game and per platform. That policy has remained the same since your purchase.

What has evolved over time is our business strategy, including clearer distinctions between hobbyist and commercial use – particularly as more developers started to publish on multiple platforms. These changes are meant to ensure sustainable development and support for the engine – not to restrict previous customers.

So yes, you're absolutely still allowed to create commercial games with your existing license – especially for desktop.

If you have any questions about a specific project or need help with mobile publishing, feel free to contact us directly by email!

Best regards,

Thomas // Visionaire Studio Team

Hi,

thank you for clarifying and whilst I am not intending to make a commercial game, I am happy that I am able to. I do realise that anything apart from desktop will require a separate license. Regards

Hello.

Thanks for your interest in Visionaire Studio and for your question!

I understand the license terms might seem a bit confusing at first, so let me explain them clearly – and also why they work that way:

 The “Complete Digital Distribution” license is a one-time payment of 300?€ per game title.

This covers all supported platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, HTML5, etc.) and lets you distribute your game digitally. This is in sum a huge market with.millions of players and.lots of potential in regards of sales.

Why is it per game?

Visionaire Studio does not take royalties or a percentage of your sales. You pay once for your game and you’re done – no ongoing fees.

In contrast, all major distribution platforms (Steam, App Store, Google Play, etc.) take a cut from every sale – typically about 20- 30% – for every single game.

We wanted to do it differently:

Our one-time license helps us fund the further development of Visionaire Studio, while letting you keep full creative and financial control over your project.

This system is especially fair for indie developers – you only pay if and when you're ready to publish, and only once per title.

In short:

Yes, you need one license per game, when you want to sell a game.

You don’t need to license prototypes or early drafts – just finished, released games that you want to sell.

No royalties. No subscriptions. No platform limits. Just a single license = full publishing rights for that game.

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If you’re planning multiple games or have special needs, feel free to contact us – we’re happy to support you.

Best regards,

Thomas // Visionaire Studio Team

Thank you for your quick response and clarification. I was relying on the Visionare Studio wiki, where the solutions and licenses for the previous version were described, hence my difficulty.

ott.

We’ve moved to the current per-title license because the old model simply wasn’t sustainable in the long run. It didn’t provide us, as developers, with the financial flexibility needed to keep maintaining and evolving the engine at the level our users deserve.

This new approach ensures that the engine can continue to grow, while remaining affordable and fair for indie developers. We believe it strikes a good balance between creator freedom and the support we need to keep Visionaire Studio strong and future-proof.

Thanks again for your understanding and all the best with your project – we’d love to see what you create with Visionaire!

Best regards,

Thomas 

I'd really like to here from someone who already has to use the new license how well designed the prices are for such a niche market, most of them doing a Kickstarter to be able to even realise the game.

Looking at the first Scott Whiskers game, without Kickstarter this game maybe wouldn't exist, rarely hitting 1 player a day this year, 34 reviews world wide on Steam, 14,99€ with 4,50€ already reserved for Steam, it also has English and German voice acting, 150€ feels like a  10% cut. But I'm not bashing on the first 2 models, they are the fairest or close to fair. But adding 200€ for a box realese without any store actually selling PC games anymore or only include Steam codes for YEARS, most unnecessary license of all time. Console? Good Lord, I'd rather use Unity for that.

I would appreciate if you change the wording to thousands instead of millions, point and click adventures hitting one million sales or more may only happen on a 13th full moon in a year. If they sell millions, we wouldn't still waiting  for The Book of Unwritten Tales 3.