Unity’s CEO is out, but that still may not be enough for developers

theverge.com:

By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.

Unity’s CEO is out, but that may not matter for game developers frustrated with the company.

John Riccitiello has announced he is retiring from his role as the CEO of beleaguered game engine software company Unity. Riccitiello, who previously held the top job at Electronic Arts when it was voted the worst company in America and had some controversial ideas about game monetization, will retire as CEO effective immediately but remain as a Unity employee until April 2024.

Earlier last month, Unity announced it would change its pricing model, making developers pay for games on a per-install basis once certain revenue and download thresholds were met. When the initial price changes were announced, developers reacted angrily, condemning the changes that they believed would financially imperil, if not outright bankrupt, the smaller indie developers who primarily use the engine.

Among calls for Unity to reverse these changes, which it now has, introducing a new 2.5 percent revenue share, some developers also wanted Riccitiello to be fired since he, as the company’s CEO, had become the face of the wildly unpopular pricing changes. Now that he’s leaving the company and in combination with the newer pricing terms, developers seem temporarily appeased. But sentiment toward Unity hasn’t monumentally shifted to positive, as many still simply do not trust the company and are still looking at alternative game engines.

“Is it good that Riccitiello is leaving? Yes,” said Brandon Sheffield, director of Necrosoft Games, who penned one of the first screeds condemning Unity’s initial price