Shocking Twist: Unity CEO Abruptly Resigns Amidst Pricing Uproar

Highlights

Unity CEO John Riccitiello steps down following controversy over the engine's pricing. The timing of his departure may be linked to the backlash.

The controversy erupted when the news broke that games created using Unity would incur charges for downloads once specific thresholds were exceeded, sparking anger among developers. As a result of protests and boycotts, Unity has subsequently revised its pricing structure. Now, fees will not be imposed on previous builds, and only games generating over $1 million in revenue will be subject to charges.

Unity CEO John Riccitiello has announced his immediate retirement from the company. Riccitiello, who took on the role in late 2014, was previously the controversial CEO of Electronic Arts from 2007 to 2014. His retirement from Unity comes in the wake of a recent pricing controversy surrounding the engine.

The controversy began in September and quickly gained momentum. It was revealed that any game created using the Unity Game Engine and meeting certain installation and revenue thresholds would now incur a fee for each download, with no option for developers to opt out. This pricing structure sparked outrage among developers, and despite the company's attempts to defend the decision, public support did not sway in their favor. Now, it seems that the controversy may have prompted significant changes within the company.

On October 9, Unity Technologies made the announcement that John Riccitiello, the President and CEO, would be stepping down from his positions immediately. However, he will continue to provide guidance to the company during the search for a new CEO. While the exact reason for Riccitiello's departure was not disclosed, it is speculated that the company's new policy received a negative response, which may have played a role. Moreover, Riccitiello sold more than 2,000 shares of his personal stock in the company, which could suggest that he had some awareness of what was to come.

After the initial announcement of the changes, Unity faced a significant backlash, with hundreds of developers expressing their dissatisfaction with the new pricing structure. The popular messaging service Discord also criticized the company, and Unity offices had to be temporarily shut down due to death threats. Developers went so far as to boycott Unity Ads in protest of the new pricing policies. However, these protests seemed to have had an impact.

Less than a month later, Unity responded to the backlash by making changes to its fee structure. Under the new policy, games using previous builds of the engine would no longer be subject to fees. Additionally, Unity Pro and Enterprise users would only be required to pay fees if their games generated over $1 Million in revenue over a twelve-month period, with developers self-reporting this information. It is unclear if these changes were a factor in Riccitiello's departure or if it was merely coincidental timing. Only time will tell if developers will continue to use the engine after this controversy, or if Unity will uphold this new policy once a new CEO is appointed.

Source: Business Wire