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Today, Unity announced that CEO John Riccitiello was resigning as president, CEO, and board chair, leaving him with little to do after weeks of upsetting developers with a runtime fee.
The company unexpectedly appointed former Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst as interim CEO. Whitehurst is a placeholder while the company finds a permanent replacement, says the company. The lead independent board member, Roelof Botha, will serve as board chair.
Unity’s experienced leadership and passionate employees position it to continue improving its platform, strengthening its community of customers, developers, and partners, and focusing on growth and profitability. I look forward to working closely with the Board and our talented global team to execute our strategy, and I anticipate a seamless transition,” Whitehurst said serenely. Time will tell.
Last month, Devin Coldewey reported that the pricing scheme surprised the community and was universally rejected, prompting the company to backtrack:
The changes were announced only last week, and immediately attracted the ire of nearly everyone in the gaming community, prompting a panicked “clarification” soft-pedaling of the “runtime fee” that would be owed with every install of a game past a certain level of revenue. The plan was intensely unpopular, as apart from the increased costs many would incur under it, it suggested that the people running the show at Unity were completely disconnected from the community.
As the games engine searches for a new leadership team, it faces uncertainty. Company stock fell 1.5% after hours. On November 9, it will report third-quarter results.
