diff --git a/.github/actions/unity-test-with-retry/action.yml b/.github/actions/unity-test-with-retry/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3c86c305d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/unity-test-with-retry/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+# Wrap game-ci/unity-test-runner with patient, jittered retries that fire ONLY on
+# license-activation failures. A license/seat failure aborts before any test results
+# are written, so "no result XML was produced" is used as the signal to retry; a run
+# that produced result XML (pass OR fail) is a genuine outcome and surfaces immediately
+# without masking. Up to 3 attempts with exponential backoff plus jitter. ~Claude
+name: Unity test runner with license-contention retry
+description: Run game-ci/unity-test-runner, retrying only on license-activation failures with jittered backoff.
+
+inputs:
+  unityVersion:
+    required: true
+    description: Unity editor version.
+  testMode:
+    required: true
+    description: playmode or editmode.
+  projectPath:
+    required: true
+    description: Path to the Unity project.
+  customImage:
+    required: true
+    description: Editor container image.
+  customParameters:
+    required: false
+    default: ""
+    description: Extra parameters forwarded to the editor.
+  artifactsPath:
+    required: true
+    description: Where unity-test-runner writes result XML. Used to classify failures.
+  checkName:
+    required: true
+    description: Name for the published Test Results check.
+  unityEmail:
+    required: true
+    description: Unity account email (passed in; composite actions cannot read secrets directly).
+  unityPassword:
+    required: true
+    description: Unity account password.
+  unitySerial:
+    required: true
+    description: Unity serial whose seats this shard activates.
+  githubToken:
+    required: true
+    description: Token for publishing the Test Results check.
+  backoffSeconds:
+    required: false
+    default: "30"
+    description: Base backoff; attempt N waits backoff*2^(N-1) plus jitter.
+  jitterSeconds:
+    required: false
+    default: "45"
+    description: Upper bound of the random jitter added to each backoff.
+
+runs:
+  using: composite
+  steps:
+    - name: Unity tests (attempt 1)
+      id: a1
+      continue-on-error: true
+      uses: game-ci/unity-test-runner@v4
+      env:
+        DOTNET_CLI_UI_LANGUAGE: en
+        DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT: 1
+        LANG: en_US.UTF-8
+        LC_ALL: en_US.UTF-8
+        BEAM_UNITY_TEST_CI: "true"
+        UNITY_EMAIL: ${{ inputs.unityEmail }}
+        UNITY_PASSWORD: ${{ inputs.unityPassword }}
+        UNITY_SERIAL: ${{ inputs.unitySerial }}
+      with:
+        customImage: ${{ inputs.customImage }}
+        customParameters: ${{ inputs.customParameters }}
+        projectPath: ${{ inputs.projectPath }}
+        testMode: ${{ inputs.testMode }}
+        unityVersion: ${{ inputs.unityVersion }}
+        artifactsPath: ${{ inputs.artifactsPath }}
+        githubToken: ${{ inputs.githubToken }}
+        checkName: ${{ inputs.checkName }}
+
+    - name: Classify attempt 1 and back off
+      id: g1
+      if: steps.a1.outcome == 'failure'
+      shell: bash
+      env:
+        ARTIFACTS: ${{ inputs.artifactsPath }}
+        BACKOFF: ${{ inputs.backoffSeconds }}
+        JITTER: ${{ inputs.jitterSeconds }}
+        ATTEMPT: "1"
+      run: |
+        set -uo pipefail
+        if find "$ARTIFACTS" -name '*.xml' 2>/dev/null | grep -q .; then
+          echo "Result XML present -> genuine test outcome; not retrying."
+          echo "retry=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          exit 0
+        fi
+        echo "No result XML -> license/activation failure suspected; will retry."
+        rm -rf "$ARTIFACTS" 2>/dev/null || true
+        delay=$(( BACKOFF * (2 ** (ATTEMPT - 1)) + (RANDOM % (JITTER + 1)) ))
+        echo "Backing off ${delay}s (jittered) before attempt $((ATTEMPT + 1))."
+        sleep "$delay"
+        echo "retry=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+    - name: Unity tests (attempt 2)
+      id: a2
+      if: steps.a1.outcome == 'failure' && steps.g1.outputs.retry == 'true'
+      continue-on-error: true
+      uses: game-ci/unity-test-runner@v4
+      env:
+        DOTNET_CLI_UI_LANGUAGE: en
+        DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT: 1
+        LANG: en_US.UTF-8
+        LC_ALL: en_US.UTF-8
+        BEAM_UNITY_TEST_CI: "true"
+        UNITY_EMAIL: ${{ inputs.unityEmail }}
+        UNITY_PASSWORD: ${{ inputs.unityPassword }}
+        UNITY_SERIAL: ${{ inputs.unitySerial }}
+      with:
+        customImage: ${{ inputs.customImage }}
+        customParameters: ${{ inputs.customParameters }}
+        projectPath: ${{ inputs.projectPath }}
+        testMode: ${{ inputs.testMode }}
+        unityVersion: ${{ inputs.unityVersion }}
+        artifactsPath: ${{ inputs.artifactsPath }}
+        githubToken: ${{ inputs.githubToken }}
+        checkName: ${{ inputs.checkName }}
+
+    - name: Classify attempt 2 and back off
+      id: g2
+      if: steps.a2.outcome == 'failure' && steps.g1.outputs.retry == 'true'
+      shell: bash
+      env:
+        ARTIFACTS: ${{ inputs.artifactsPath }}
+        BACKOFF: ${{ inputs.backoffSeconds }}
+        JITTER: ${{ inputs.jitterSeconds }}
+        ATTEMPT: "2"
+      run: |
+        set -uo pipefail
+        if find "$ARTIFACTS" -name '*.xml' 2>/dev/null | grep -q .; then
+          echo "Result XML present -> genuine test outcome; not retrying."
+          echo "retry=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          exit 0
+        fi
+        echo "No result XML -> license/activation failure suspected; will retry."
+        rm -rf "$ARTIFACTS" 2>/dev/null || true
+        delay=$(( BACKOFF * (2 ** (ATTEMPT - 1)) + (RANDOM % (JITTER + 1)) ))
+        echo "Backing off ${delay}s (jittered) before attempt $((ATTEMPT + 1))."
+        sleep "$delay"
+        echo "retry=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+    # Final attempt: NOT continue-on-error, so an exhausted-retry failure fails the job.
+    - name: Unity tests (attempt 3, final)
+      id: a3
+      if: steps.a2.outcome == 'failure' && steps.g2.outputs.retry == 'true'
+      uses: game-ci/unity-test-runner@v4
+      env:
+        DOTNET_CLI_UI_LANGUAGE: en
+        DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT: 1
+        LANG: en_US.UTF-8
+        LC_ALL: en_US.UTF-8
+        BEAM_UNITY_TEST_CI: "true"
+        UNITY_EMAIL: ${{ inputs.unityEmail }}
+        UNITY_PASSWORD: ${{ inputs.unityPassword }}
+        UNITY_SERIAL: ${{ inputs.unitySerial }}
+      with:
+        customImage: ${{ inputs.customImage }}
+        customParameters: ${{ inputs.customParameters }}
+        projectPath: ${{ inputs.projectPath }}
+        testMode: ${{ inputs.testMode }}
+        unityVersion: ${{ inputs.unityVersion }}
+        artifactsPath: ${{ inputs.artifactsPath }}
+        githubToken: ${{ inputs.githubToken }}
+        checkName: ${{ inputs.checkName }}
+
+    # A continue-on-error attempt that failed with produced results is a genuine
+    # failure the loop deliberately did not retry; re-surface it as a job failure.
+    - name: Surface genuine test failure
+      if: >-
+        (steps.a1.outcome == 'failure' && steps.g1.outputs.retry == 'false') ||
+        (steps.a2.outcome == 'failure' && steps.g2.outputs.retry == 'false')
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        echo "::error::Unity tests failed with produced results (genuine failure, not a license flake)."
+        exit 1
diff --git a/.github/matchers/unity-license.json b/.github/matchers/unity-license.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7f584b3f4a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/matchers/unity-license.json
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+{
+  "problemMatcher": [
+    {
+      "owner": "unity-license-no-valid-license",
+      "severity": "error",
+      "pattern": [
+        { "regexp": "^.*(No valid Unity Editor license found.*)$", "message": 1 }
+      ]
+    },
+    {
+      "owner": "unity-license-ulf-return-failed",
+      "severity": "error",
+      "pattern": [
+        { "regexp": "^.*(Serial number unavailable for ULF return.*)$", "message": 1 }
+      ]
+    }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/buildPR.yml b/.github/workflows/buildPR.yml
index 225f12b527..c5b594c014 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/buildPR.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/buildPR.yml
@@ -179,8 +179,18 @@ jobs:
         run: dotnet build --configuration Release --no-restore templates/SourceGen/MicroserviceSourceGen.Tests
       - name: Test
         run: dotnet test --configuration Release --no-build templates/SourceGen/MicroserviceSourceGen.Tests
-  testAllModes:
-    timeout-minutes: 30
+  # Unity Pro serials allow 2 concurrent activations each, and we own 3 serials
+  # (UNITY_SERIAL, UNITY_SERIAL_BUILD, UNITY_SERIAL_DEVOPS), so the Unity workload is
+  # sharded into one job per serial. Each shard runs max-parallel: 1. Although a serial
+  # has 2 seats, the license return of a finishing leg overlaps the activation of the
+  # next, momentarily demanding a third seat and tripping spurious "No valid Unity Editor
+  # license found" failures (observed on run 27972570615). Capping at 1 leaves a full
+  # seat of headroom for that return/activate transition. This does not guard against
+  # cross-run contention (a second concurrent run on the same serial); raise toward the
+  # seat count only behind a license server that gives blocking seat acquisition. ~Claude
+  testGroupDefault:
+    # Raised from 30 to cover up to 3 license-retry attempts plus jittered backoff. ~Claude
+    timeout-minutes: 75
     name: Tests ${{ matrix.unityVersion }} ${{ matrix.testMode }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     concurrency:
@@ -188,6 +198,7 @@ jobs:
       cancel-in-progress: true
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
+      max-parallel: 1
       matrix:
         projectPath:
           - client
@@ -198,23 +209,8 @@ jobs:
           - 2021.3.29f1
           - 2022.3.7f1
           - 6000.0.37f1
-          - 6000.2.8f1
-          - 6000.3.0f1
         gameCiVersion:
           - 3.1.0
-        include:
-          - unityVersion: 2022.3.7f1
-            unityEmailOverride: UNITY_EMAIL_DEVOPS
-            unityPasswordOverride: UNITY_PASSWORD_DEVOPS
-            unitySerialOverride: UNITY_SERIAL_DEVOPS
-          - unityVersion: 2021.3.29f1
-            unityEmailOverride: UNITY_EMAIL_BUILD
-            unityPasswordOverride: UNITY_PASSWORD_BUILD
-            unitySerialOverride: UNITY_SERIAL_BUILD
-          - unityVersion: 6000.0.37f1
-            unityEmailOverride: UNITY_EMAIL_BUILD
-            unityPasswordOverride: UNITY_PASSWORD_BUILD
-            unitySerialOverride: UNITY_SERIAL_BUILD
     env:
       GAME_CI_VERSION: >-
         ${{
@@ -309,27 +305,192 @@ jobs:
           large-packages: true
           docker-images: true
           swap-storage: true
-      - uses: game-ci/unity-test-runner@v4
-        id: tests
-        timeout-minutes: 30
-        env:
-          DOTNET_CLI_UI_LANGUAGE: en
-          DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT: 1
-          LANG: en_US.UTF-8
-          LC_ALL: en_US.UTF-8
-          BEAM_UNITY_TEST_CI: "true"
-          UNITY_EMAIL: ${{ secrets[matrix.unityEmailOverride] || secrets.UNITY_EMAIL }}
-          UNITY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets[matrix.unityPasswordOverride] || secrets.UNITY_PASSWORD }}
-          UNITY_SERIAL: ${{ secrets[matrix.unitySerialOverride] || secrets.UNITY_SERIAL }}
+      # Surface the literal Unity license-contention lines as annotations live, mid-run.
+      # Complements the post-failure XML check below, which controls the job's outcome.
+      # Container-action stdout scope is unconfirmed; verify on a real run. ~Claude
+      - name: Register Unity license problem matcher
+        run: echo "::add-matcher::.github/matchers/unity-license.json"
+      - name: Unity tests (license-contention retry)
+        uses: ./.github/actions/unity-test-with-retry
         with:
+          unityVersion: ${{ matrix.unityVersion }}
+          testMode: ${{ matrix.testMode }}
+          projectPath: ${{ matrix.projectPath }}
           customImage: ${{ env.DOCKER_REGISTRY }}/beamable/editor:ubuntu-${{ matrix.unityVersion }}-base-${{ env.GAME_CI_VERSION }}
           customParameters: -warnaserror+ -executeMethod Beamable.Editor.BeamCli.BeamCliUtil.InstallToolFromLocalPackageSource
-          projectPath: ${{ matrix.projectPath }}
-          testMode: ${{ matrix.testMode }}
-          unityVersion: ${{ matrix.unityVersion }}
           artifactsPath: ${{ matrix.testMode }}-${{ matrix.unityVersion }}-artifacts
+          checkName: ${{ matrix.unityVersion }} ${{ matrix.testMode }} Test Results
+          unityEmail: ${{ secrets.UNITY_EMAIL }}
+          unityPassword: ${{ secrets.UNITY_PASSWORD }}
+          unitySerial: ${{ secrets.UNITY_SERIAL }}
           githubToken: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      # A license/seat activation failure aborts before any tests run, so it produces
+      # no result XML. If the shard failed and no XML exists, surface a plain-language
+      # annotation naming license contention so the red build is self-explanatory and
+      # nobody has to scroll the editor log to find "No valid Unity Editor license
+      # found". (Artifact presence is used rather than parsing the editor stdout, which
+      # a later step cannot read back.) ~Claude
+      - name: Annotate Unity license contention
+        if: failure()
+        shell: bash
+        env:
+          ARTIFACTS: ${{ matrix.testMode }}-${{ matrix.unityVersion }}-artifacts
+        run: |
+          if find "$ARTIFACTS" -name '*.xml' 2>/dev/null | grep -q .; then
+            echo "Test result XML present: this is a genuine test failure, not license contention."
+          else
+            echo "::error title=Unity license contention::${{ matrix.unityVersion }} ${{ matrix.testMode }} produced no test results -- the editor exited before tests ran, the signature of a Unity license/seat activation failure (serial contention), not a test failure."
+          fi
+
+  # Second Unity-test shard, pinned to the UNITY_SERIAL_BUILD seat (see the comment
+  # above testGroupDefault for the seat-budget rationale). ~Claude
+  testGroupBuild:
+    # Raised from 30 to cover up to 3 license-retry attempts plus jittered backoff. ~Claude
+    timeout-minutes: 75
+    name: Tests ${{ matrix.unityVersion }} ${{ matrix.testMode }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    concurrency:
+      group: unity-tests-${{ matrix.unityVersion }}-${{ matrix.testMode }}-${{ github.head_ref }}
+      cancel-in-progress: true
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      max-parallel: 1
+      matrix:
+        projectPath:
+          - client
+        testMode:
+          - playmode
+          - editmode
+        unityVersion:
+          - 6000.2.8f1
+          - 6000.3.0f1
+        gameCiVersion:
+          - 3.1.0
+    env:
+      GAME_CI_VERSION: >-
+        ${{
+          matrix.unityVersion == '6000.2.8f1' && '3.2.0' ||
+          matrix.unityVersion == '6000.3.0f1' && '3.2.1' ||
+          matrix.gameCiVersion
+        }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Log in to the Container registry
+        uses: docker/login-action@v3
+        with:
+          registry: ${{ env.DOCKER_REGISTRY }}
+          username: ${{ github.actor }}
+          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Create Unity Mapped Values
+        id: unityMap
+        env:
+          UNITY_MODE: >-
+            ${{ fromJson('{
+              "playmode": "player",
+              "editmode": "editor"
+            }')[matrix.testMode] }}
+        run: |
+          echo "UNITY_MODE=$UNITY_MODE" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+
+      - name: Setup .NET Core SDK ${{ matrix.dotnet-version }}
+        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
+        with:
+          dotnet-version: |
+            10.0.x
+            9.0.x
+            8.0.302
+      - name: Install Go
+        uses: actions/setup-go@v5
+        with:
+          go-version: 1.24.1
+          cache-dependency-path: ./otel-collector/beamable-collector/go.sum
+      - name: Build and Install BEAM CLI
+        working-directory: ./
+        run: |
+          ./setup.sh
+          SKIP_GENERATION=true ./dev.sh --skip-unreal
+        env:
+          PROJECT_DIR_OVERRIDE: ${{ github.workspace }}/NugetBuildDir/
+      - name: Check Beam CLI
+        run: |
+          pwd
+          ls -a
+          beam version
+      - name: Apply Nuget Version to Unity SDK
+        run: |
+          ReleaseSharedCode=true dotnet build ./cli/beamable.common -t:CopyCodeToUnity
+
+      - name: Apply CLI Versions
+        run: jq --arg nextVersion 0.0.123.1 '.nugetPackageVersion = $nextVersion' ./client/Packages/com.beamable/Runtime/Environment/Resources/versions-default.json > localtmpfile && mv localtmpfile ./client/Packages/com.beamable/Runtime/Environment/Resources/versions-default.json
+
+      - name: Review Unity version-default file
+        run: |
+          cat ./client/Packages/com.beamable/Runtime/Environment/Resources/versions-default.json
+
+      - name: Copy the nuget packages into unity
+        working-directory: ./
+        run: |
+          mkdir -p client/BeamableNugetSource/
+          ls BeamableNugetSource
+          cp BeamableNugetSource/*.nupkg client/BeamableNugetSource/
+
+      - name: Cache Unity Folders
+        uses: actions/cache@v3
+        with:
+          path: ${{ matrix.projectPath }}/Library
+          key: Library-2-${{ matrix.projectPath }}-${{ matrix.unityVersion }}
+          restore-keys: |
+            Library-2-${{ matrix.projectPath }}-${{ matrix.unityVersion }}
+
+      - name: Free Disk Space (Ubuntu)
+        uses: jlumbroso/free-disk-space@main
+        with:
+          # this might remove tools that are actually needed,
+          # if set to "true" but frees about 6 GB
+          tool-cache: false
+
+          # all of these default to true, but feel free to set to
+          # "false" if necessary for your workflow
+          android: true
+          dotnet: true
+          haskell: true
+          large-packages: true
+          docker-images: true
+          swap-storage: true
+      # See the registration rationale above testGroupDefault's matching step. ~Claude
+      - name: Register Unity license problem matcher
+        run: echo "::add-matcher::.github/matchers/unity-license.json"
+      - name: Unity tests (license-contention retry)
+        uses: ./.github/actions/unity-test-with-retry
+        with:
+          unityVersion: ${{ matrix.unityVersion }}
+          testMode: ${{ matrix.testMode }}
+          projectPath: ${{ matrix.projectPath }}
+          customImage: ${{ env.DOCKER_REGISTRY }}/beamable/editor:ubuntu-${{ matrix.unityVersion }}-base-${{ env.GAME_CI_VERSION }}
+          customParameters: -warnaserror+ -executeMethod Beamable.Editor.BeamCli.BeamCliUtil.InstallToolFromLocalPackageSource
+          artifactsPath: ${{ matrix.testMode }}-${{ matrix.unityVersion }}-artifacts
           checkName: ${{ matrix.unityVersion }} ${{ matrix.testMode }} Test Results
+          unityEmail: ${{ secrets.UNITY_EMAIL_BUILD }}
+          unityPassword: ${{ secrets.UNITY_PASSWORD_BUILD }}
+          unitySerial: ${{ secrets.UNITY_SERIAL_BUILD }}
+          githubToken: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      # See the annotation rationale above testGroupDefault's matching step. ~Claude
+      - name: Annotate Unity license contention
+        if: failure()
+        shell: bash
+        env:
+          ARTIFACTS: ${{ matrix.testMode }}-${{ matrix.unityVersion }}-artifacts
+        run: |
+          if find "$ARTIFACTS" -name '*.xml' 2>/dev/null | grep -q .; then
+            echo "Test result XML present: this is a genuine test failure, not license contention."
+          else
+            echo "::error title=Unity license contention::${{ matrix.unityVersion }} ${{ matrix.testMode }} produced no test results -- the editor exited before tests ran, the signature of a Unity license/seat activation failure (serial contention), not a test failure."
+          fi
 
   build:
     name: Build for ${{ matrix.targetPlatform }}
@@ -340,6 +501,10 @@ jobs:
       cancel-in-progress: true
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
+      # All device builds share the UNITY_SERIAL_DEVOPS seat (see the comment above
+      # testGroupDefault). max-parallel: 1 leaves a seat of headroom for the license
+      # return/activate transition. ~Claude
+      max-parallel: 1
       matrix:
         targetPlatform:
           - Android
@@ -350,15 +515,6 @@ jobs:
           - 6000.0.37f1
         projectPath:
           - client
-        include:
-          - targetPlatform: Android
-            unityEmailOverride: UNITY_EMAIL_DEVOPS
-            unityPasswordOverride: UNITY_PASSWORD_DEVOPS
-            unitySerialOverride: UNITY_SERIAL_DEVOPS
-          - targetPlatform: StandaloneOSX
-            unityEmailOverride: UNITY_EMAIL_BUILD
-            unityPasswordOverride: UNITY_PASSWORD_BUILD
-            unitySerialOverride: UNITY_SERIAL_BUILD
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
@@ -446,9 +602,9 @@ jobs:
       - uses: game-ci/unity-builder@v4
         timeout-minutes: 60
         env:
-          UNITY_EMAIL: ${{ secrets[matrix.unityEmailOverride] || secrets.UNITY_EMAIL }}
-          UNITY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets[matrix.unityPasswordOverride] || secrets.UNITY_PASSWORD }}
-          UNITY_SERIAL: ${{ secrets[matrix.unitySerialOverride] || secrets.UNITY_SERIAL }}
+          UNITY_EMAIL: ${{ secrets.UNITY_EMAIL_DEVOPS }}
+          UNITY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.UNITY_PASSWORD_DEVOPS }}
+          UNITY_SERIAL: ${{ secrets.UNITY_SERIAL_DEVOPS }}
         with:
           customImage: ${{ env.DOCKER_REGISTRY }}/beamable/editor:ubuntu-${{ matrix.unityVersion }}-${{steps.unityMap.outputs.UNITY_PLATFORM}}-3.1.0
           targetPlatform: ${{ matrix.targetPlatform }}