Current Unity CEO and former EA boss John Riccitiello has said that if studios don’t consider monetization in their games during the creative process, they are “fucking idiots”, but has since apologized for his comment. .

During a recent interview with PocketGamer.biz, the CEO discussed the announcement that Unity and IronSource would be merging, also addressing the criticism both companies have received regarding the inclusion of monetization during earlier development.

“Ferrari and some of the other high-end automakers still use clay and carving knives,” Riccitiello said. “It’s a very small portion of the gaming industry that works that way, and some of these people are my favorite people in the world to fight – they’re the most beautiful, purest, brightest people. They’re also some of the biggest fucking idiots”.

The CEO went on to elaborate on his earlier comment, explaining that the games industry has changed over the years, saying, “It used to be that developers would pitch their game over the wall to the publisher and the team. sales without literally any interaction. That model is part of the philosophy of many art forms and mediums, and it is one that I deeply respect, know of its dedication and care.

“But this industry divides people into those who still hold to that philosophy and those who massively embrace how to figure out what makes a product successful. And I don’t know a successful artist anywhere who doesn’t care what their player thinks.” … This is where this feedback loop comes back, and you can choose to ignore it. But choosing not to know at all is not a great decision.”

Following Riccitiello’s comments, he received backlash from members of the development community, with some strongly disagreeing with the CEO’s sentiment.

“I made Apple’s iPhone Game of the Year in 2018 (Donut County) using Unity, but according to their CEO, I’m a ‘huge idiot’ for not making Hole io, the f2p game that ripped it off,” said the game developer Independent ben husband.

Breogán Hackett, a developer who worked on If Found, responded in Twitter saying, “John Riccitiello thinks I’m an idiot. I think he’s a greedy little capitalist pig who only cares about money. I’m so tired of people like him ruining the things I love.”

However, today Riccitiello tweeted apologized, saying his words were taken “out of context”, adding that he was “deeply sorry if what I said offended any game developers”.

This is not the first time Riccitiello has commented on monetization in games. In 2011, he defended the use of microtransactions saying that he is “a great role model” and “represents a substantially better future for the industry.”

Unity has recently faced criticism after it laid off 200 workers shortly before it acquired IronSource in a $4.4 billion all-stock deal. Riccitello reportedly assured employees two weeks before the news that there would be no layoffs during a general meeting, but then laid off four percent of his workforce.