Unity's CEO, John Riccitiello, has apologized for his rude remark towards developers who don't prioritize monetization in the creative process.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 05: Unity Technologies CEO John Riccitiello speaks onstage during Day 1 of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2018 at Moscone Center on September 5, 2018 in San Francisco, California.
Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch
Riccitiello is an industry veteran who sees a growing divide between game developers who figure out what makes a successful product and those in other art forms that maintain a distance from the money side of things to make way for their creativity. He argued that developers must first need to cater to the market.
Riccitiello insisted that the interview was clickbait but has now said sorry for his "crude word choice," according to Eurogamer. He also said that he will now listen and do better. He also thinks that what he can do is give more context to the interview.
He started it off by expressing his respect for the game developers and commented on how their work is amazing. Riccitiello also said that he thinks that game developers have better ways to get an early read on what players think of their games.
Therefore, he said that they are working hard to provide developers with tools that will help them better understand what their players think. You can read the full statement here.
Riccitiello's company also recently announced that it will merge with ad tech firm Ironsource. This partnership will give developers who use the engine more ways to monetize.
In related news, the UK government told the UK games industry that it won't take action on loot boxes, but they will draw up a legislation that will, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz.
The government told game publishers that the luxury of regulating itself will cease if it doesn't control the sale of loot boxes to children and young people. This is because the loo boxes cause more harm than good.
In June 2020, the UK government announced that they would launch a call for evidence on loot boxes and started inviting responses from the public in September.
After a lengthy investigation, the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) said that loot boxes shouldn't be available to children without the consent of their parents or guardians.
Other recommendations include better signaling to players that look boxes are not essential or guaranteed success. It also stated that the government has launched the Video Games Research Framework that will help better understand the positive and negative impacts of gaming.
However, for now, the UK government has stopped short of implementing legislation that can help achieve this. This is also not the first time a British government body asked for evidence on loot boxes.
