Unity Software Inc (NYSE:U) CEO John Riccitiello is retiring after nine years at the video game software company following a highly controversial pricing model change that angered the developer community.
Riccitiello will also step down as chairman and leave the board of directors, the company said Monday.
James Whitehurst, former CEO of enterprise of the open source technology firm Red Hat (NYSE:RHT), will serve as interim CEO, the company announced. Roelof Botha, managing partner of Sequoia Capital and lead independent director of Unity’s board, will step in as chairman.
“It’s 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,” Riccitiello said in a statement. “I look forward to supporting Unity through this transition and following the company’s future success.”
Last month, Unity frustrated developers who utilize the company’s software to create video games by introducing what it called the Unity Runtime Fee (URF). The URF charges developers each time a game is downloaded, once it hits certain revenue and download thresholds.
Developers who make games using Unity’s engine fumed at the decision, arguing that it limits flexibility, raises costs and forces developers to upgrade Unity’s premium services to access higher download thresholds.
Ultimately, Unity slightly moderated the policy change in response to the backlash.
Shares of Unity fell 1.5% Monday to $29.70.
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