Unity CEO John Riccitiello has been named President of Unity. The company behind one of the most widely used game engines in the world announced this even in press release Monday.
Riccitiello is stepping down as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, and is being replaced by Interim Chairman James Whitehurst. The latter will steer the ship while Unity searches for a new president, while Riccitiello will take on an advisory role to ensure an orderly transition.
The replacement comes after a period of turmoil and harsh criticism directed at the unit. Less than a month ago, the company announced broad changes to the payment model for its game engine, requiring developers to, among other things, pay per install of a game developed with Unity.
The plans were eventually modified, but for many developers the damage had already been done. Internally at Unity, dissatisfaction with the original plans must have been great as well. However, the company did not mention the situation in this week’s announcement, and simply thanked Riccitello for his long and loyal service.
-John has led Unity through incredible growth over the past nearly 10 years. […] The unit would not be where we are today without his contribution, the press release said.
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