Get started with Analytics#

To get started, you need to:

• Sign up for UGS.
• Link your dashboard project to a Unity Editor project.
• Initialize UGS in your game code.
• See billing information.

Sign up#

If you don't have a Unity account, please create one and create a new project to sign up for Unity Gaming Services.

1. Sign in to the Unity Services Dashboard.
2. Click Explore Services in the side panel.
3. Click Sign Up in the top banner and follow the instructions.

Next steps: Install the Analytics SDK and link the service to your Unity project.

Link your project#

In the Unity Editor, you'll need to link your local project build to a Unity Project ID.

1. Go to Edit > Project Settings > Services.
2. Log in with your existing credentials.
3. Select your project from the drop-down list and click Link project ID.

Go to Analytics in the Unity Dashboard to start analyzing your data. You must also initialize the SDK.

SDK installation#

In the latest Unity editor versions, the package will be visible in Package Manager.

The minimum editor version for Analytics is 2019.4.

To install the latest Analytics package for Unity, you should use the latest version of the Unity Editor and follow these steps:

1. In the Unity Editor, open Window > Package Manager.
2. In the Package Manager, select the Unity Registry list view.
3. Search for Analytics, or locate the Analytics package in the list.
4. Select the package, then click Install.

See the Package Manager documentation for more information.

Next steps: Link the service to your Unity project and Set up the SDK.

Analytics billing#

Analytics is an end-to-end data and analysis solution, designed to support your entire studio. Analytics is free to get started and offers a generous free tier with a pay-as-you-scale afterwards, where you only pay for additional Monthly Active Users. This helps developers determine and predict their costs more easily as games scale from increased numbers of players. MAU is also a widely recognized industry standard for measuring user engagement that can be easier to understand compared to other models.

The current consumption pricing model based on events and query seconds will stop and customers will be charged on a model based on the number of Monthly Active Users (MAUs). MAU-based pricing is currently available for Leaderboards and UGS Analytics from August 1, 2023. Usage is reset at the beginning of each month. You cannot switch to the old pricing model.

MAU-based pricing#

Monthly Active Users measures the total number of unique user IDs that had at least one session per environment in a month. This is measured by the unityInstallationID or any custom userID passed to the Analytics service, and is specific to the Analytics product and not impacted by other products in the UGS bundle.

You are charged when the number of MAUs exceed the Free Tier or Fair Usage limits.

The below table shows the pricing tiers:

Fair Usage Limits#

Fair Usage Limits is a set amount of usage capacity. If you exceed this limit, there might be a surcharge added to your bill. This is primarily to prevent abuse of Unity’s services by customers performing an excessive number of operations per MAU. Unity expects a very small number of edge cases to be impacted by these limits.

After you surpass the Free Tier limit, you are subject to fair usage limits to ensure fairness and reliability. As you approach your fair usage limits you’ll be notified.

The following limits apply:

• 500 custom events per MAU
• 0.05 seconds of SQL Data Explorer query time per MAU

If your organization exceeds the Fair Usage Limits for Analytics, a surcharge might be applied for the excess usage. In the event that a surcharge does apply and multiple fair usage limits are exceeded, the meter with the highest percentage over the limit is considered for surcharging. The surcharge for excess usage is reflected on your monthly bill, and these limits reset at the beginning of each calendar month.

Fair usage is an average value and might fluctuate throughout the month as MAU cumulatively increases; the source of truth for your usage and billing will be reflected in your bill at the end of each month. Note that both valid and invalid events count towards the custom event limit.

If you exceed fair usage limits and haven’t provided payment details, you might be contacted by Unity to discuss reducing usage or accepting special terms.

Follow best practices available in this article. Note that both valid and invalid events count towards the custom event limit. Make sure your queries are optimized for efficiency, particularly when handling large datasets. Refer to our cookbook for guidance. For other concerns or questions, contact our support team or reach out to your Unity client partner.

Reporting#

You can monitor your limits in the Unity Dashboard in multiple locations, including the Service Usage tab on the main dashboard and the Analytics landing page.

Note: The data in the reporting dashboard is delayed by about 14 hours.

There is one MAU usage tracker and two fair usage trackers, for custom events and query seconds. If you exceed any of the free tiers, banners appear on the Dashboard to notify you.

Purchasing Unity Analytics#

Unity Analytics is a sub-product of Unity Gaming Services, so you must purchase UGS as a whole to use Analytics. See here to learn how to create a Unity ID.

When you have purchased UGS, it can take up to one hour before your pipelines are available and set up. However, you will immediately have access to the UI (such as Dashboards). If you cancel UGS, you immediately lose access to the UI , and lose access to the APIs 30 days later.

If you return to UGS, any Analytics events that you sent after canceling might be processed, but access to the ingestion pipeline is lost after you cancel.

Historic data (such as events or player information) is deleted 120 days after cancellation and cannot be retrieved.

Billing#

The first billing period for the new Analytics MAU pricing model will run from August 1, 2023 to August 31, 2023, and customers can expect to receive their first bill under the new pricing model in early September.

Your first bill under the new pricing model is based on the sum of Monthly Active Users (MAU) across all projects and environments in your organization. If your MAU is below 50,000, you can use the Analytics service free of charge. If your MAU exceeds 50,000, you are charged at a different rate per tier exceeded. Refer to the pricing table above to estimate your costs or submit a request to speak with our support team about your project.

FAQ#

What if I have existing contracts with Unity?#

The new pricing model applies to all customers, regardless of any existing contracts or commitments. However, if you have a negotiated contract, we recommend reaching out to your partner at Unity to understand how the new pricing model will affect your billing.

Will I be billed for my Legacy Analytics data?#

Data that is migrated from Legacy Analytics to the new UGS Analytics does not count towards the MAU billing.

However, any data received into UGS Analytics from the UGS Analytics SDK is subject to billing. Once a customer installs the UGS Analytics SDK into their project and it begins ingesting data, it will be added towards the MAU model and be billable.

Additionally, if SQL Data Explorer is used to query against data imported from Legacy Analytics, it counts towards the Fair Usage Limits.

What about my other Unity services?#

Each UGS product has its own billing unit and is separate from each other. The Analytics MAU meter is specific to the Analytics service and does not impact the pricing of other UGS services. Your Analytics usage exceeding the free tier is visible as a line item on your bill.