Unity CEO John Riccitiello ‘retiring’ from company weeks after pricing controversy

Unity has announced the departure of its CEO John Riccitiello, just weeks after the company became mired in controversy following hugely unpopular changes to its engine pricing model.

At the end of last month, Unity announced sweeping changes to its Unity Engine business model that would force developers to pay an additional monthly Unity Runtime Fee every time their game was installed, on top of their existing licence subscription, after reaching certain revenue and life-time instalment thresholds. The backlash from the development community was immediate and intense, and Unity eventually announced significant changes to its initial plans – but by that point, the damage was done.

And now Unity has announced that John Riccitiello, the CEO who oversaw its reputationally devastating pricing changes, “will retire” from all his roles at the company – president, chief executive officer, chairman, and a member of its board of directors – effective immediately.

Unity – which did not mention its recent troubles in Riccitiello’s departure announcement – says it will begin a “comprehensive search process” to find a replacement CEO. James M. Whitehurst will serve as interim chief executive officer, president, and board member until that process is complete, with Riccitiello continuing to advise the company “to ensure a smooth transition”.

“It’s been a privilege to lead Unity for nearly a decade and serve our employees, customers, developers and partners,” Riccitiello wrote in his departure statement, “all of whom have been instrumental to the Company’s growth.”

Riccitiello joined Unity in 2014 – he was CEO at EA prior to the move – and has been embroiled in a number of controversies while at the company’s helm. Last year, he caused outrage, and later apologised, when he called mobile developers “some of the biggest f***ing idiots” for not prioritising monetisation from their smartphone games.