Unity CEO John Riccitiello Resigns

Unity CEO John Riccitiello has announced that he’s retiring from the company effective immediately. The news comes roughly a month shy of the company announcing plans to introduce a controversial install fee for developers, which has resulted in an industry-wide backlash.

Unity announced in a release that James M. Whitehurst would take on the role of interim CEO, while its board searches for a permanent successor. Whitehurst, a veteran technologist who served at IBM as its president from 2008 until 2020 and then as senior advisor between 2021 and 2022 is the interim CEO. 

“It’s been a privilege to lead Unity for nearly a decade and serve our employees, customers, developers and partners, all of whom have been instrumental to the Company’s growth,” Riccitiello says in a statement. “I look forward to supporting Unity through this transition and following the Company’s future success.” Riccitiello became CEO of Unity in 2014 following his resignation as CEO at EA. 

“I am honored to join Unity as Interim CEO and President at this important time in its evolution,” says Whitehurst in the press release. “With the Company’s experienced leadership and passionate employees, I am confident that Unity is well-positioned to continue enhancing its platform, strengthening its community of customers, developers and partners, and focusing on its growth and profitability goals. I look forward to working closely with the Board and our talented global team to execute on our strategy, and I anticipate a seamless transition.”

Unity will also release its third-quarter results on the 9th of November, after markets close. The webcast is scheduled for 2 pm PT/5 pm. ET. 

Unity made headlines last month by announcing that it would be introducing a Runtime Fee. Basically, developers of Unity-developed games would have to pay a fee after their titles were installed a certain number of times, per install. This mandate even applied games that had been released prior to the program’s planned introduction on January 1, 2024. 

Unity has been a popular choice for independent developers. Many studios have publicly condemned the decision. Some studios have threatened to remove their games once the Runtime Fee is implemented. Others announced plans to move in-development titles onto a new engine, and rallied others to stay away from Unity. Unity received so many death threats, that its offices were forced to temporarily close.

The root of developers’ issue with the policy was that they would suddenly have to pay a potentially exorbitant amount of extra money on successful titles, even if they were released years ago. Developers also expressed anger at the lack of clarity and transparency in Unity’s initial messaging, particularly at the company’s methods of collecting install data and that the policy potentially violated the engine’s original Terms of Service.

Unity apologized for its actions in an open-letter, promising to clarify some murky elements and adjust their policy. This messaging has helped to calm the anger, but many developers still believe that Unity’s reputation is permanently damaged. Some have even called for Riccitiello’s resignation. Many developers have received their wishes today but it is yet to be determined if this will be sufficient to restore the relationship between Unity’s clients and itself.