In an unexpected move, John Riccitiello, the CEO of Unity Technologies, has announced his immediate retirement from his role at the company. Riccitiello, who assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer in late 2014, had previously held the controversial CEO role at Electronic Arts from 2007 to 2014. His departure from Unity follows a recent wave of controversy surrounding the engine’s pricing structure.
The pricing controversy began in September and quickly gained momentum. It was revealed that any game created with the Unity Game Engine, surpassing specific installation and revenue thresholds, would be subject to a fee each time the game was downloaded. Developers were left without an option to opt out of this pricing structure. This decision sparked immediate outrage among developers, and Unity Technologies struggled to justify its stance, failing to gain public support. Now, it seems that this controversy may have triggered a significant shakeup within the company.
On October 9, Unity Technologies disclosed that John Riccitiello was stepping down from his positions as President and CEO, effective immediately. However, he will continue to advise the company during its search for a new CEO. While the exact reason for Riccitiello’s sudden departure was not provided, it is plausible that the backlash against Unity’s new pricing policy played a role. Additionally, the former Unity CEO sold more than 2,000 shares of his company’s stock, possibly indicating prior knowledge of the forthcoming changes.
Following the initial announcement of the pricing changes, numerous developers voiced their opposition to Unity’s new pricing structure. Even popular messaging service Discord criticized the company’s decision, and Unity offices faced temporary closures due to death threats. Developers went as far as boycotting Unity Ads in protest of the pricing policies. It appears that these protests had an impact.
Less than a month after the initial announcement, Unity modified its fee structure in response to the backlash. Under the revised policy, there would be no fees for games using previous engine builds. Furthermore, Unity Pro and Enterprise users would only incur fees if their games generated over $1 million in revenue within twelve months, with developers self-reporting this information. Currently, it remains unclear whether Riccitiello’s departure was connected to these changes or if it was merely a coincidental timing. The future will reveal whether developers continue to use the engine after this controversy and whether Unity sticks to its adjusted policy once a new CEO is appointed.
