Former EA CEO John Riccitiello is now top exec at Unity

Unity Technologies has announced that founder David Helgason has stepped down from his role as chief executive. Taking his seat at the top is John Riccitiello, former CEO at Electronic Arts up until his departure from that company last year.

 

The San Francisco based company develops and supports the Unity engine, one of the most popular 3D game engines licensed for use on a range of mobile platforms and game consoles such as iOS and Android, as well as the Playstation 4, Wii U and Xbox One. According to its website, they have over 3.3 million registered developers. Blizzard's 'Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft,' inXile Entertainment's 'Wasteland 2,' Harebrained Schemes' 'Shadowrun Returns' and Red Thread Games' 'Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey' are among the many games that run on Unity engine.

 

In the six year period between 2007 and 2013, Riccitiello was CEO at EA. The expansion of the company's focus beyond creating games for computers and consoles is largely attributed to him. In 2009, EA purchased Playfish, a developer of social media games. On 2011, EA bought PopCap, the developer of mobile hits such as 'Plants vs. Zombies' and 'Peggle.' By the time he left the company, EA became owner of one of the strongest portfolios of mobile and social games.

 

Riccitiello was well known as being one of few gaming executives to openly talk about games he played like 'Mirror's Edge' and 'Bioshock.' However, he is also a polarizing figure for his controversial views about the gaming business. Riccitiello's resignation announcement came with the declaration that he was accountable for EA's lack of financial guidance and failure to meet operating goals. Executive chairman Larry Probst served as interim CEO until Andrew Wilson was appointed later that year. 

 

"This is an amazing win for Unity and the community," Helgason said in a statement. "He's the right person to help guide the company to the mission that we set out for ourselves over a decade ago: democratize game development!" Helgason will remain with the company as executive vice president in charge of strategy and communications. According to CNET's Nick Statt and Ian Sherr, Helgason and Riccitiello have worked closely during the past year, meeting twice a week in many cases to discuss Unity and its strategy. 

 

Helgason went on to say that Riccitiello's appointment to CEO of Unity won't change the company's trajectory. In an interview with Re/code, he clarified that while proud of the company's growth, "running a big, complex company across five continents," was less than enjoyable. Riccitiello joined Unity's board of directors after investing in the company last November, but maintained an active role. "He wasn't just a classic stereotypical board member that shows up every three months and hears you out," Helgason told CNET.

 

Helgason said “I’ve never met anyone who could help me think as clearly as he could,” and praised Riccitiello’s consumer background and “strong intuition.” Game developers are Unity's direct customers, but in the past year the company has tried to broaden its focus. It has done so by looking into marketing and analytics through the acquisition of Everyplay and Playnomics. Everyplay is a word of mouth marketing tool based on sharing replays of mobile games, while Playnomics is an developer analytics tool.

 

Epic Games is Unity's primary competition in the game engine and technology space. Epic produces, develops and supports the Unreal engine. In a bid to attract more independents, Epic lowered its product licensing prices earlier this year. Epic currently charges a 25 percent revenue share for games making more than $50,000 or $19 per month with a five percent revenue share. Unity's pricing array consists of varying buy-to-own or monthly licensing plans, with a zero royalty rate for $75 per month.

 

Helgason summarized the future under Riccitiello by saying that Unity Technologies will "be more focused than ever about making sure everyone has access to the best technology and services." He added, "We want all of you to have the best tools and opportunities, and we're going to do everything we can to make that happen across the board." — TJD, GMA News