But you're saying, "Unity has had a free version for a long time! This isn't news."

But I'm saying, Unity 5 is out NOW, and previously pro-only features are now in the free version, including render-to-texture, pp effects, the profiler... free!

Not bad!

And of course, I downloaded UE4 last night. And Source 2 is gonna be free, too. It's good to be in game dev!

It's time to think about switching to "another" engine I guess...

basically they extended the free features. a lot. anyway, great news for us to have the possibility to select from more free professional tools

Yes great news about this engines the last days.

Here at the forum I see only "Zorro 1.28 available". So I have no hope for Acknex anymore.

Jcl said that he has no time for the engine in the next 5 months... maybe then he returns and fights back!
to be honest, beside such a competition little engines (not only our beloved one) have really reduced chance.

Source Engine 2 is free too.

I use Unity Pro for a couple of years now, i've learned a lot about the engine and have done some commercial projects mostly archviz, and i'm doing a mobile game now. I have Pro for PC, MAC, etc... for $1500, and the free versions of the Android and iOS extensions (which are $1500 each), so far i'm publishing with the free mobile version, the drawback is the unity splash screen which is simple (black with the symbol and the logo Unity) no big deal at all, even cool...

Then lets talk about Unity 5 "free". They say its free for anyone to use commercially with no royalties... BUT this time the obligatory splash screen says: made with Unity Personal edition, which automatically makes your product unsellable to any potential client, sponsor, or end user... even if i upgrade my 4.5 license for $750, i have to pay $3000 more to avoid looking like a fuckin amateur.

The only reasons to update are
Technology is too old (looking at A8 *.*)
Technology is no longer supported by the company's support system.
Technology has features you truly need.

I like many programs, but If I did yearly updates, I'd be broke. I have to earn enough to justify an upgrade and the new features have to justify the upgrade. Back when 3ds max published and upgrade every year, I never upgraded yearly. $3000+ I would need to earn 4 to 6 times the cost to justify the upgrade. However, as I am new to Unity jumping in here is the only real option.
@nuclear_winter if you can earn more with Unity 4.x then do.. Until your earned pay or feature absolute need justifies the upgrade. I am sure you can produce CandyCrush 20-50 with it and earn tons. i.e. It's still viable and indie developers earn on the strength of their creation not on cutting edge feature.
Maybe I am talking out of place; however, The current top indie games(1-4) probably can be made without an upgrade and their earnings will justify the upgrade. If the hobby is to be on the cutting edge of game tech, than you'll have one very expensive hobby.

@nuclear winter:
"Unsellable" is a bit of a stretch. That splash screen is not gonna stop your game from being good. If someone gets to the point where they see that splashscreen, they've started your game/application. They're not going to quit before seeing a bit more, and it's up to your game/application to help you avoid looking like an amateur, not a splashscreen.

i also find the splash screen horrible. actually i even would prefer the old way of less features if it had no splash screen.