Unity CEO John Riccitiello stepping down, effective immediately
His retirement comes amid a backlash to changes to the company's pricing model.
Unity game developer said that John Riccitiello will step down as president and CEO of the company after nine years in leadership, effective immediately. James Whitehurst, who previously served as senior advisor and president at IBM, will fill in as interim CEO. The leadership transition comes during a turbulent time for the company.
Just a month ago, Unity rolled out some significant concessions to its developer pricing model after widespread backlash over its plan to charge developers for game installations. The move will directly impact developers, publishers and distributors. The upheaval of Unity’s business model came at the same time as a series of massive layoffs. In 2023, the company reduced its headcount three times in an attempt to cut costs.
Despite the recent controversy, Unity said it expects third-quarter revenue to fall somewhere between $540 million to $550 million, which is up 67 to 70 percent from last year.
