As you all know, we’ve been making some big moves at Unity lately. We’ve partnered with some amazing companies and begun putting a lot more energy and resources into developing technologies that will help you be more efficient when you create games and then help you connect your games with an awesome audience when you’re ready for it.
This is a lot to take on as a company and building it right is going to take a huge effort. We keep our eyes out for the best talent and help wherever we feel we can use it at every level. That’s why today, I’m pleased to welcome John Riccitiello onto the Unity team as our new CEO. Sure, that sounds odd, as it also means I’m stepping down from the role, but this is an amazing win for Unity and the community and I can’t wait to work with John and the rest of the (fantastic) team to serve you as best we can.
Thanks guys. and if it wasn’t 1000% percent clear (or if you just didn’t read the post), I’m still going to be fully engaged going forwards. Wish us all luck!
Good luck in your new role David. Hope it means you can spend more time doing the things you enjoy, and less time on the things you don’t. Very glad you’re staying at Unity!
Welcome to the good ship Unity John. Take good care of her.
Why would you hire the guy who destroyed EA Games as your CEO?
I understand you want to move on, but couldn’t you pick someone that isn’t one of the most hated CEO’s in the gaming industry?
During his tenure, EA emerged as the world’s largest maker of video games,[10] with sales rising from about $673 million in 1997 to more than $3 billion in fiscal year 2004. Profit rose from $51.3 million in 1997 to $577 million in fiscal year 2004.[11]
He left EA from 2004 to 2007, then:
EA generated $1.6 billion of digital revenue in 2012 and a #1 ranking in annual revenue for Apple iOS.[19] Qualitatively, under Riccitiello’s tenure EA ascended in metacritic’s rankings from #5 in 2010, #4 in 2011, to #1 in 2012.[20] Profitability was up each year from fiscal year 2009 through fiscal year 2012, but fell below projections in 2013.
Unless you mean spiritually, which I can agree with. I don’t want to buy a Unity season pass =(
I’m…kind of with @Saxi on this one. EA, during Riccitiello’s entire tenure at the company, has been the living embodiment of all that is despised in the game industry. There were on occasion game companies that were more hated than EA, but I’m pretty sure EA bought them all. I’m not usually one to judge a new hire, but it’s hard for me to imagine a worse company for a guy to have on his resume.
Edit: I should say, this is from the perspective of a Unity user. I have little doubt that he will drive UT to record profits.
Will he now be popping the collar? I expect to see Riccitiello step out at Unite with the collar popped.
I just hope he is looking to truly continue the path of Unity, away from EA type management, rather than merge it with EA down the road or move away from the Unity mission. I am frankly a little worried as a Unity developer of 6+ years now since the beginning. I hope this was not forced in any way due to the big money in Unity now. Please don’t mess this up.
Saxi refered to EA games, not to EA itself. Then again I don’t think Riccitiello can be made responsible alone for ALL those reasons that ultimately lead to the worst company awards.
It would be very pleasant to hear his opinion about online enforcement, micro transactions (pay to win) and intrusive digital right management non the less, although it plays a minor role in the game engine sector. Still the philosophy does…
It’s funny, as I read this article where it says “the right person to help guide the company to the mission that we set out for ourselves over a decade ago: democratize game development!” all I can think of is why I (and many I worked with at the time) boycotted EA after the SimCity release a couple years ago when all EA did was nickel and dime us right out of the game for good.
Sorry to see you stepping down David; only few know how draining such a venture can be. It’s been a pleasure using Unity as a tool!
But, having anyone from EA (the CEO of all people) this close to the indie community is a pretty big slap in the face. It is what it is I suppose and perhaps I’m just being cynical however history has shown us that these types of reorganizations are usually precursors to a merger or acquisition. I can naively believe a such a thing wont happen… but then who’s really the fool?!?
I think his running a company for the better part of a decade does precisely cause him to assume responsibility for its failed business decisions. And make no mistake: online enforcement, microtransactions, and intrusive DRM are all business decisions. No programmer looked at SimCity and thought, “You know, I think we should make this game require being online.” That’s a call that couldn’t have come from anywhere but the top of the company.
I also disagree that these things play a minor role in the game engine sector. That is to say, they currently play a minor role in the sector, but it’s easy to imagine a scenario where that’s not the case. The fear is that this guy is going to be the one to make them a big part of the sector. “Sure, Unity Free is still free, and we’re adding in-app purchases to it! By the way, we’re taking half your profits.” That’s the sort of thing we’re all worried that Unity may start doing with him in charge.
I hope these fears are proven wrong, and until/unless these fears are borne out, I will continue to use Unity. But let’s just say that, starting today, I am going to be keeping a much more open mind about going to Unity’s competitors.