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Frequently Asked Questions
Overview & Eligibility
What is uSymphony and how can it transform my Unity workflow inside Visual Studio?
uSymphony is a comprehensive and powerful solution designed to elevate your Unity development experience within Visual Studio. It transforms Visual Studio into a smarter, more efficient IDE tailored specifically for Unity game development by seamlessly integrating Unity-specific features and Github Copilot into your workflow. With uSymphony, you can streamline and enhance key aspects of development—including coding, debugging, testing, asset management, and dependency management (whether it’s NuGet packages or UPM packages)—all within one unified environment. This transformation empowers you to focus on creating great games while uSymphony handles the complexities behind the scenes.
Who is eligible to use each uSymphony edition?
| Edition | Typical user | Visual Studio prerequisite | Microsoft Community limits | Cost advantage |
| uSymphony for VS Community | Solo developers, hobbyists, indie studios and startups that have ≤ 5 Unity coders, stay below the 250-PC / $1 million thresholds, and actively use Visual Studio Community. | Visual Studio Community 2022 | Organisation must qualify as “non-enterprise” under Microsoft’s Visual Studio Community license (≤ 250 PCs and ≤ $1 million annual revenue) and may have up to 5 commercial Community users. | Greatest, because VS Community is free |
| uSymphony for VS Pro / Enterprise | Any team that uses VS Professional or Enterprise – including larger game studios and other enterprises (no size limit) | Visual Studio Pro or Enterprise 2022 | No head-count or revenue limits | Still lower TCO than annual Rider subs for multi-year use |
Licensing & Maintenance
What license types does uSymphony offer?
• Per-user perpetual license – one-time fee, tied to a named developer, activatable on up to three machines.
What do I get when I buy a license?
• Perpetual right to use the current version forever.
• 12 months of maintenance: all updates (minor + major) and email/ticket/forum support.
What counts as “maintenance” and is it required?
Maintenance is an optional ±12-month service that unlocks:
• All bug-fix and feature updates (minor and major).
• Access to ticket-based support under the SLA above.
• Eligibility to join private preview versions.
How does maintenance renewal work?
• Maintenance renewal is optional and starts $45 / year (uSymphony for VS Community) or $79 / year (uSymphony for VS Pro / Enterprise).
• Renew any time—there are no back-fees; you never pay for lapsed years.
• Without maintenance renewal you keep the last version but lose new updates.
Can I move a named license to another machine?
Yes. Up to three active machines per user at any time.
Pricing & Purchase Options
What does a standard uSymphony license cost after the Official Release (Official Release ＝ “GA”) and what does that include?
A one-time per-user license (perpetual use) gives you the software in perpetuity plus the first 12 months of maintenance (updates + support). The prices are unchanged: $75 for uSymphony for VS Community and $135 for uSymphony for VS Pro / Enterprise. Starting in year 2 you may renew maintenance at $45 or $79 per user.
| Edition | One-time license (incl. year-1 maintenance) | Optional renewal, year 2+ |
| uSymphony for VS Community | $75 per user | $45 / yr |
| uSymphony for VS Pro / Enterprise | $135 per user | $79 / yr |
Can I pre-pay maintenance at a discount?
Yes. At the Official Release you may lock in two or three years up-front. The 2-year bundle saves 12 % off list; the 3-year bundle saves 15 %. (List = license + straight-year renewals.)
| Edition | 2-Year list | 2-Year bundle | 3-Year list | 3-Year bundle |
| uSymphony for VS Community | $120 | $106(-12 %) | $165 | $140 (-15 %) |
| uSymphony for VS Pro / Enterprise | $214 | $188(-12 %) | $293 | $249 (-15 %) |
What is the presale offer and when does it end?
The presale runs only until the first Official Release planned for September 2025. After the Official Release the presale shop closes permanently. Prices:
| Edition | Licence-only | 2-Year bundle | 3-Year bundle |
| uSymphony for VS Community | $49 | $78 | $99 |
| uSymphony for VS Pro / Enterprise | $81 | $129 | $169 |
These bundles already include maintenance for the stated years, and they equate to roughly 35 % off post-launch pricing.
What advantages do presale buyers receive and when does the offer end?
• Save roughly 35 % versus post-launch pricing
• Exclusive beta access — only presale buyers can join the public beta scheduled for late August 2025, giving several weeks of hands-on testing and a direct feedback channel before the Official Release.
• Guaranteed Day-1 Official Release download on release day in September 2025, so production work can begin immediately.
• Roadmap-feature voting rights, allowing them to prioritise post-release features.
• Maintenance clock starts on Official Release day, so no portion of your one-year (or multi-year bundle) term is consumed during the wait period.
• Longer post-launch rethink window: presale customers still have a full 30-day “change-of-mind” period after the Official Release to evaluate the shipping build, whereas standard purchasers receive the statutory 14-day cooling-off period mandated by EU distance-selling rules.
The presale storefront closes permanently at the Official Release ( planned for September 2025 ); any licenses purchased after that point will be charged at regular post-launch prices.
What is the presale refund policy?
• Cancel any time before Official Release delivery for a full refund, no questions asked.
• After release, you still have a full 30 days to change your mind because we recognise that early adopters have not yet had a chance to evaluate the shipping version. This “post‑launch” buffer follows common marketplace practice for digital pre‑orders, such as GOG’s 30‑day goodwill period.
• Once the Official Release build is delivered, your extended 30-day evaluation window begins; if you change your mind within those 30 days, we will issue a full refund and deactivate the license. This “post‑launch” buffer follows common marketplace practice for digital pre‑orders.
• After 30 days post-delivery, presale licenses become non-refundable, matching the rule that applies 14 days after purchase for regular GA customers.
What volume discounts do you offer?
When you place one order that contains several named-user licenses—and any pre-paid maintenance you want to attach to them—the whole basket gets a sliding-scale discount:
| Licences in the same order | You pay (% of list price) |
| 5 – 9 users | 88 % |
| 10 – 19 users | 83 % |
| 20 – 29 users | 80 % |
| 30 – 49 users | 77 % |
| 50 + users | 75 % |
The same percentages apply after the 15 % surcharge if you later upgrade any of these licenses to Floating Seats.
Worked example (30 Pro / Enterprise users, 2-year bundle)
Licence + Year-1 maintenance:
$135 × 30 × 70 % = $2,835
Pre-paid Year-2 maintenance:
$79 × 30 × 70 % = $1,659
Grand total for two full years of updates and support: $4,494
Trials & Beta Access
Is there a free trial?
A 30-day, feature-complete trial becomes available at the Official Release; Download a full-feature trial from the website and no credit card required. You’ll experience all features and improved workflows exactly as in the paid version.
How do I join betas?
The final open beta is scheduled for mid-July 2025 and is exclusive to presale buyers. All presale customers are automatically enrolled; they receive download links for preview builds and can submit feedback directly through the tracker. Beta access is not available to non-presale users.
Support & Updates
What support channels are available?
• Email/ticket (1 BD response for Community, 8 h SLA for Pro/Ent).
• Community forums for peer help.
• Docs: install guides, migration how-tos, and Unity-upgrade notes.
How often are updates released?
• Bug-fix/feature releases roughly every 2–5 weeks.
• Major versions ~ 12–18 months. All are free while maintenance is active.
Can I stay on an old Unity LTS version?
Yes. Each uSymphony major supports at least one full Unity LTS cycle; critical security fixes back-ported after the next major ships.
Refunds
What refund window do I have on a new perpetual license?
• For purchases made after the Official Release, individual consumers may cancel for any reason within 14 calendar days of purchase and receive a full refund; the license is then revoked.
• For presale purchases (i.e., before the software ships) you may cancel any time up to the day the Official Release build is delivered. After delivery you still enjoy a 30-day “change-of-mind” period—double the standard window—because early adopters have not yet tried the shipping version.
How are yearly maintenance renewals refunded?
• A renewal can be refunded within 30 days provided no support ticket has been answered and no update released during that window has been activated.
• Downloading an update or receiving support permanently converts the renewal into a non-refundable service (industry norm for support contracts).
What happens if I buy maintenance early for next year and change my mind?
Pre-paid future renewals are fully refundable right up to the day the next term starts; once the term begins, the 30-day/unused rule above applies.
Is there any refund at all after 14 days (or 30 days for presale)?
No. Beyond that point the license fee is non-refundable, but you retain perpetual use of the last build you downloaded.
Comparison with Rider
Solo indie developer — three-year cost comparison (1 user)
| Scenario | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3-Year total |
| uSymphony Community – pay license + renew yearly | $75 | (optional) $45 | $45 | $165 |
| uSymphony Community – GA 3-year bundle | $140 (up-front) | — | — | $140 |
| uSymphony Community – Presale 3-year bundle | $99 (up-front) | — | — | $99 |
| Rider (Commercial, Individual) | $149 | $119 | $89 | $357 |
Even at standard GA pricing the 3-year bundle saves an indie roughly 60 % versus Rider; with the presale bundle the saving exceeds 70 %.
Cost over three years for a 5-developer indie team
| Tool | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3-Year total |
| Unify for VS Community (85 % bulk tier) | $75 × 5 × 0.85 = $318.75 | $45 × 5 × 0.85 = $191.25 | $45 × 5 × 0.85 = $191.25 | $701.25 |
| Rider (Organization) | $419 × 5 | $419 × 5 | $419 × 5 | $6285 |
Savings: 88 % in uSymphony’s favor. For organisational Rider at $419/user, the gap widens dramatically.
Cost over three years for a 15-developer team
(80 % bulk tier applied to uSymphony pricing; Visual Studio Professional license itemised separately)
| Item | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3-Year total |
| uSymphony for VS Pro / Enterprise – licenses + year-1 maintenance ( 80 % bulk tier ) | $135 × 15 × 0.80 = $1 620 | — | — | $1 620 |
| uSymphony maintenance renewal ( 80 % bulk tier ) | — | $79 × 15 × 0.80 = $948 | $79 × 15 × 0.80 = $948 | $1 896 |
| Visual Studio Professional – one-time standalone license $499 * | $499 × 15 = $7 485 | — | — | $7 485 |
| Combined uSymphony + Visual Studio stack | $1 620 + $7 485 = $9 105 | $948 | $948 | $11 001 |
| Rider (Commercial, Organisation) † | $419 × 15 = $6 285 | $419 × 15 = $6 285 | $419 × 15 = $6 285 | $18 855 |
* One-time perpetual license price shown on Microsoft’s Visual Studio Professional page (USD $499).
With Visual Studio priced separately, the total uSymphony stack is still ≈ 42 % less than a three-year Rider subscription for the same 15-developer studio.
Feature head-to-head
If you already standardize on Visual Studio or rely on VS-only tooling, uSymphony is the native way to bring Unity smarts and AI assistance into that stack (see our detailed ‘uSymphony vs Rider feature comparison’ for exact feature mapping), especially cost-effective for Community-eligible teams. Rider excels if you need a stand-alone cross-OS IDE or a bundled JetBrains toolchain.
Still have questions?
Whether you’re evaluating pricing, license models, or how uSymphony fits your studio’s workflow, our team is happy to help. Drop us a line and we’ll reply as quickly as possible.