Unity has announced that John Riccitiello will retire from his role as President, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and a member of the company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. Riccitiello, who has served as Unity’s CEO and president since 2014, didn’t elaborate on why he is leaving in Unity’s press release, but Unity users suspect it has a lot to do with the plan pricing and packaging updates that Unity announced in September, which introduced the concept of charging a fee for each and every game install that passes certain thresholds. Unity offered an apology later that month, confirming that it would be making a number of changes to fan the flames of the outrage.
“It’s been a privilege to lead Unity for nearly a decade and serve our employees, customers, developers and partners, all of whom have been instrumental to the Company’s growth,” Riccitiello said. “I look forward to supporting Unity through this transition and following the Company’s future success.”
“Working with Unity under John’s leadership has been one of the highlights of my career. John joined the Unity Board in 2013 and stepped in to lead the Company in 2014, at a time when we faced significant challenges,” Roelof Botha, Lead Independent Director of the Unity Board, who has been appointed Chairman, said. “John has led Unity through incredible growth over the last nearly 10 years, helping us transition from a perpetual license to a subscription model, enabling developers to monetize, building other game services to serve our creator community, leading us through an IPO and positioning us as a pioneer in the developer community. Unity would not be where it is today without the impact of his contributions. I remain excited for the future of Unity.”
“I am honored to join Unity as Interim CEO and President at this important time in its evolution,” James M. Whitehurst, who has been appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer, President, and a member of the Board, said. “With the Company’s experienced leadership and passionate employees, I am confident that Unity is well-positioned to continue enhancing its platform, strengthening its community of customers, developers and partners, and focusing on its growth and profitability goals. I look forward to working closely with the Board and our talented global team to execute on our strategy, and I anticipate a seamless transition.”
The Board will initiate a comprehensive search process, with the assistance of a leading executive search firm, to identify a permanent CEO.
Mr. Whitehurst is a seasoned technology and public company executive. He previously served as Senior Advisor and President at IBM, after joining through IBM’s acquisition of Red Hat, a leading provider of open source enterprise IT products and services, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 2008 to 2020.