Unity executive Marc Whitten is stepping down on June 1, 2024, less than a year after becoming entangled in the company’s Runtime Fee fiasco.
Whitten currently serves as Unity Create chief product and technology officer. It’s unclear why he’s resigning from the role, but an SEC filing notes he will continue to serve as an employee until December 31, 2024, to “assist with the transition of his responsibilities.”
Not too long ago, those responsibilities included persuading developers to accept the introduction of a new Runtime Fee policy, which ultimately went down like a lead balloon.
A brief history of the Unity Runtime Fee
Unity announced a now-discarded version of that Runtime Fee in September 2023, quickly invoking the fury of game developers around the world who claimed the new policy was essentially a per-install tariff that would actually punish success.
The company eventually reworked the fee in the wake of that massive backlash, and Whitten himself told Game Developer that Unity wasn’t “listening enough” to developers during the debacle.
Unity has replaced key leaders in the aftermath, with CEO and president John Riccitiello departing in October 2023. He was eventually succeeded by former Zynga COO Matthew Bromberg.
Although Whitten is also preparing to make tracks, he won’t be leaving Unity empty handed. As noted in that SEC filing, Whitten will be entitled to a number of benefits upon his resignation including a lump sum cash payment worth $200,000 that’s equal to 26 weeks of his base salary.
He’ll also receive another cash payout worth $400,000 that’s equal to his target bonus for 2024 under the cash incentive program, and an additional $200,000 lump for “supporting the leadership transition.” A smaller payment of $14,801 will be dished out to cover health care continuation costs.