Unity CEO leaves immediately after fuss about new pricing system

John Riccitiello, the CEO of game engine maker Unity, is leaving the company. The company announces this. The CEO leaves shortly after dissatisfaction with a new pricing system, which would force developers to pay Unity per new installation of their game.

Unity confirms Riccitiello’s departure as CEO, president and board member in a press release. The CEO, who was previously the CEO of EA, is resigning immediately. He will continue to ‘advise Unity for a smooth transition’. The board of the game engine maker will be looking for a new permanent CEO. James Whitehurst will become interim CEO, president and board member in the meantime. Whitehurst did not yet work at Unity, but is an advisor for Silver Lake. That is an investment company that owns nine percent of Unity. He previously served as CEO of Red Hat for twelve years.

Unity did not mention a reason for Riccitiello’s departure in its statement. However, the departure comes shortly after dissatisfaction with a new rate system that Unity wanted to introduce. As a result, developers using the Unity engine would have to pay up to 20 cents for each new installation of their game, provided they meet certain sales and download criteria.

That change was negatively received by game makers who use Unity. The new model would violate Unity’s previously established terms of use and would be unfair to game developers. Several studios spoke out against Unity’s new pricing models. Some developers also threatened to move away from Unity for their future projects, including the creator of Rust and the studio behind Slay the Spire.

Unity has now adjusted the pricing model. Existing Unity projects are excluded and studios can also choose to pay 2.5 percent of their game turnover, instead of paying per installation. Unity’s Marc Whitten apologized for the earlier plans.