After the aftermath of their disastrous 2024 runtime fee, which saw them face severe backlash from the community, Unity CEO John Riccitiello is stepping down from his multiple roles as president, CEO and board chair. However, John Riccitiello will remain in contact with Unity and continue to advise the company to ensure a smooth transition as it searches for a new CEO.
In response to John Riccitiello’s dismissal, Unity has turned to former Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst to assume the role of Interim CEO. In an official press release, Roelof Botha, Lead Independent Director of the Unity Board, announced: “The Board will initiate a comprehensive search process, with the assistance of a leading executive search firm, to identify a permanent CEO. James Whitehurst will step in as interim CEO while Mr Riccitiello will continue to advise Unity to ensure a smooth transition.”
Also Read: BlizzCon 2023 Is Nearing, and Blizzard CEO Confirms Warcraft Has the Most New Things to Reveal
Jim Whitehurst Will Replace John Riccitiello as Interim CEO
The appointment of Jim Whitehurst to replace John Riccitiello as Interim CEO does come as a surprise as the former is considered an outsider. To put it into perspective, Jim is an advisor at Silver Lake, a private equity firm that owns about 9% of Unity. However, you may recognise him more as the 12-year CEO of Red Hat, an IBM subsidiary known for a specific flavour of Linux.
In response to his appointment, Whitehurst replied: “I am honoured to join Unity as Interim CEO and President at this crucial time in its evolution. With its 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 our strategy, and I anticipate a seamless transition.”
As for Mr John Riccitiello, he responded: “It has 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. I look forward to supporting Unity through this transition and following the future success of Unity.”
Also Read: Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney Follows Alarming 2023 Trend of Mass Layoff
Was John Riccitiello’s Dismissal Forced?
While the press release did not mention the exact reason for John Riccitiello’s dismissal, it is not hard to guess why. For starters, John Riccitiello is infamous for his controversial statements and for making incomprehensible decisions regarding pricing and money. For example, Editor Tom Warren highlighted some of his in the Twitter post below.
Thus, many concluded that John had a massive part to play in implementing the horrible runtime fee and pointed the finger at him for the changes. While many companies and developers did not specify him directly, the public backlash was something Unity cannot afford to overlook. Therefore, Unity has now tuned down its pricing model and allows its users to pay them a flat 2.5% of their game revenue if they prefer not to pay based on engagement.
Moreover, John Riccitiello has never generated any profit for the company if we followed the statement from Unity’s most recent quarterly earnings report. In the report, Unity mentioned that it has suffered losses from operations, which accumulated to a deficit of $2.7 billion as of June 30, 2023. It is quite surprising as John Riccitiello ran the company for 9 years while the company was supplying its game engine to many famous games like Among Us and Pokemon GO. Perhaps it is Unity’s way of portraying a valid reason, as John sold over 2000 stocks a week before revealing their controversial runtime fee, and they finalised this decision for a while before unveiling it to us.
Final Thoughts
Time will tell whether Unity has made the right decision in dismissing John Riccitiello for Jim Whitehurst. As for the immediate future, Whitehurst definitely does possess the credentials and experience to lead Unity as an interim CEO. For additional info, Unity will release its third quarter 2023 financial results after the market close on Thursday, November 9, 2023, with a webcast to follow at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET. Stay tuned to our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for coverage of the event.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is Jim Whitehurst?
Jim Whitehurst is the new interim CEO of Unity, replacing the former president John Riccitiello. Jim Whitehurst previously served as senior advisor at IBM from July 2021 to May 2022 and as president of IBM from April 2020 to July 2021. He joined IBM through an acquisition of Red Hat, one of the leading providers of open-source enterprise IT products and services, where he served as CEO from January 2008 to April 2020.
What Changes Did Unity Make to Its Business Model?
Following the mass 500 developers backlash, Unity has unveiled its revamped policy as there will no longer be any fees for games that use previous engine versions. Moreover, Unity Pro and Enterprise users will only pay if their game generates more than $1 million in revenue over 12 months, which will be self-reported by the developer.
Which Games User Unity Game Engine?
Popular games such as Genshin Impact and Among Us use the 2D & 3D game engine that has been around since 2005. Ironically, Among Us developers, InnerSloth is the early few to call out Unity for its business model.