Unity game engine: Matthew Bromberg assigned new CEO
The struggling engine developer Unity has found a new boss: Matthew Bromberg previously gained experience in the gaming sector at Zynga.
(Bild: Shutterstock.com/nikkimeel)
Matthew Bromberg succeeds John Riccitiello and Jim Whitehurst as CEO of Unity. After some turmoil at the top, the struggling engine developer had been looking for a long-term solution. Bromberg, who has worked at casual game developer Zynga in the past, will also become Unity President and a member of the Supervisory Board on May 15.
(Bild: Unity)
Former EA CEO John Riccitiello left Unity last fall amid corporate turmoil. Unity had previously presented its new so-called "runtime fee", demanding game developers to pay 20 cents per installation of their game once a certain success milestone had been reached. After developer studios ran up a storm against this planned payment model, Unity was largely forced to recall it.
Riccitiello was succeeded on an interim basis by former IBM manager Jim Whitehurst, who set about streamlining the company. In several rounds of redundancies, over 2000 employees had to leave, almost a third of the workforce. A partnership with the film effects company Weta FX was discontinued. Whitehurst remains with Unity as chairman of the supervisory board.
Bromberg must win back trust
Bromberg now faces the task of leading Unity back to success. The company's engine is used in numerous video games, but can also be used for design and film production. However, trust has been squandered in the game industry in particular following the failure to change the business model.
"I'm excited to join Unity as the company embarks on its next chapter," Matthew Bromberg, who like Riccitiello also has an EA past, was quoted as saying in a statement. "I look forward to working with Jim, the board and the incredible employees at Unity to create the best integrated platform for developers while accelerating the company's revenue growth and profitability."
(dahe)
