Unity CEO Retires in Wake of Runtime Fees Controversy

John Riccitiello is stepping down from his role as CEO, president, chairman, and a member of the board of directors immediately.

Posted By | On 10th, Oct. 2023

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Unity has announced that the company’s CEO, president, chairman and member of the board of directors, John Riccitiello, is stepping down from his roles. The announcement comes in the wake of quite a bit of controversy courted by the company with its runtime fees announcement.

With Riccitiello stepping down from his roles today, James M. Whitehurst is set to take over as the interim CEO, president and member of the board, while Unity board independent director Roelof Botha is being appointed as the new chairman.

The company, known for its popular game engine, announced its new runtime fees monetisation plan back in September. As part of the plan, developers and publishers would be charged by the engine maker any time a game made using Unity engine was downloaded. After seeing quite a bit of backlash from several indie studios, the company has since backpedalled.

Unity has since announced a new pricing structure, which was revealed alongside a letter of apology.


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