Unity CEO Says Mobile Developers Who Don’t Maximize Monetization Are ‘F**king Idiots’
The mobile gaming world has often been criticized for its tendency to build games around monetization. Although some of the best new Android games are premium, mobile developers are more often turning to free experiences.
In an interview with PocketGamerBiz, Unity CEO John Riccitiello has expressed deep hatred for mobile developers who create premium experiences. However, this may be due to one important factor.
Are Premium Mobile Developers Stupid?
In the interview, Riccitiello said premium mobile developers are “f**king idiots” for not maximizing monetization. Riccitiello discussed denial from developers and gamers regarding blatant monetization features in mobile games.
The CEO of Unity explained that developers of premium games are always very good at their job. However, he thinks they are stupid for not getting obvious benefits from free payments.
“Ferrari and some of the other high-end automakers still use clay and carving knives,” said Riccitiello, a former Electronic Arts executive. “It’s a very small part of the gaming industry that works that way, and some of those people are my favorite people to fight with in the world – they’re the most beautiful, purest and most beautiful people. They are also some of the biggest idiots.
The CEO explained that big games have failed commercially on mobile because they are not suitable for free users. Instead, they are passion projects that have sadly been left behind. He said:
“I’ve seen great games fail because they set their stress loop to two minutes when it should have been an hour. Sometimes you won’t even notice the difference in product between a massive hit and a huge fail, but for this tweak and what it does to the attrition rate, there isn’t a developer on the planet that wouldn’t want this knowledge.”
Read more: The Division Resurgence sees The Dark Zone thrive on mobile
So why is Unity peddling this?
To be fair, Unity’s CEO is right. Mobile gaming is hugely lucrative for some projects, like Diablo Immortal, but mobile developers looking to bank on premium experiences are sadly left behind. Well, unless they’re Minecraft.
However, Unity also has an interest in more mobile games going free. With game engine makers merging with ad company Ironsource, they want more Unity games to break the momentum with ads.
It’s already been a profitable part of mobile gaming for Unity for years. Free games created on Unity, many of them use Unity Game Ads to serve ads to players. The unit takes a share of the revenue generated.
Of course Unity wants more free games to come up with monetization, it’s one of their best money generators. Even if it means boring players in the process.
