NullReferenceException: Delegates#

Subscribing to a delegate without unsubscribing can be a memory leak.

Under certain conditions—especially if Configurable Enter Play Mode is enabled—static delegates will persist between Play Mode sessions. If subscribers are not cleaned up then this can also be a leak.

These leaks can cause a NullReferenceException when they reference a Unity Object that was destroyed (destroyed manually, or destroyed by exiting Play Mode).

Resolution#

Unsubscribe from delegates—especially those that are static— when your object is destroyed or you should no longer be subscribed.

// Unsubscribing a single subscriber 
s_MyStaticEvent -= Subscriber;

// Removing all subscribers
s_MyStaticEvent = null;

You can generally do this from OnDestroy, which will be called when a Component is destroyed (destroyed manually, or destroyed by exiting Play Mode).

Configurable Enter Play Mode#

If you are using Configurable Enter Play Mode, you should unsubscribe explicitly using the callback mentioned in the documentation.

[RuntimeInitializeOnLoadMethod(RuntimeInitializeLoadType.SubsystemRegistration)]
static void Unsubscribe()
{
    s_MyStaticEvent = null;
}

Return to NullReferenceException: UnityEngine.Object.