Riccitiello Replaces Helgason as CEO at Unity

A change in leadership has taken place at Unity, developers of one of the most popular licensed 3D game engines in the industry.

Games Industry reports that Unity Technologies co-founder David Helgason is stepping down from his decade-long role of CEO of the company and is being replaced by the former CEO of Electronic Arts, John Riccitiello. Helgason will now be the company's Executive Vice President of Strategy and Communications. Riccitiello was the President and Chief Operating Officer of EA from 1997 to 2004 and CEO from 2007 to 2013.

Unity Technologies is known for developing each version of the Unity Engine. Recent games that use the Unity Engine include the likes of Slender: The Arrival, Surgeon Simulator, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Firefly Online, Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty and Gone Home.

"Unity has been a hugely positive force in the games industry for years. Now it's my incredible fortune to have the opportunity to help guide Unity going forward," said Riccitiello.

"Unity is more than a great engine or packages of services, it's an amazing and diverse community of developers, many of which are changing the way we think about game design and production. Unity's mission -- to democratize development -- is an important one that I'm very happy to help drive forward