Electronic Arts is undergoing a major internal shake-up, announcing today in a letter from CEO Andrew Wilson that it is reorganizing its major studios and leadership structure in an effort to “empower our creative teams.”
The reorganization includes the division of EA Games and EA Sports, with the former being renamed “EA Entertainment” indicating that EA intends to expand outside of gaming where possible.
“We’re building the future of interactive entertainment on the foundation of legendary franchises and innovative new experiences, which represent massive opportunities for growth,” Wilson wrote in a letter announcing the news.
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Former EA Chief Operating Officer Laura Miele will take over as EA Entertainment’s President of EA Entertainment, Technology and Central Development, working closely with Vince Zampella and other well-known executives. Cam Weber, who exited EA Football, will continue to lead EA Sports. Both will have expanded control over their ratings with the aim of giving them more oversight over budgets and decision-making flexibility.
Wilson will continue to head both organizations in his capacity as CEO of EA. The moves coincide with news that Chief Experience Officer Chris Brozo has retired, with EA Chief Financial Officer Chris Suh also leaving the company. David Tenson and Stewart Canfield will respectively assume their responsibilities.
Big reorganization of EA
The moves are the latest in what has been a major reorganization of EA. Earlier this month, we reported that Star Wars: The Old Republic would soon be transitioning to a third-party developer, with many of its developers given the opportunity to move elsewhere in the company. It is unclear if the current reorganization will lead to layoffs.
As before, EA Sports will continue to take an interest in the F1 series, which has just been released, as well as the newly acquired PGA Tour and Super Mega Baseball. That’s in addition to traditional blockbusters including Madden, the newly renamed EA Sports FC, The NHL, and the upcoming College Football reboot.
Meanwhile, EA Entertainment will include Respawn, DICE, Ripple Effect, Ridgeline Games (Battlefield), Full Circle (Skate), Motive Studio (Iron Man), EA’s Seattle studio, BioWare, and EA Originals. EA also includes several mobile games, including Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes and the recently released Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth.
While exciting on the face of it, much of the current structure will remain the same, with Zampella continuing to lead Respawn and Battlefield. Likewise, Samantha Ryan will continue to be responsible for BioWare, Maxis, Full Circle and Motive Studios. Aside from giving studio leaders more control over their own fields, the big change seems to center around the separation of EA Sports, which continues to be EA’s biggest profit driver. EA’s soccer simulations in particular continue to be major financial machines for EA, with FIFA 23 pushing the publisher close to $2 billion in net bookings.
“Over the coming months, Stewart, Laura, Cam and David will engage closely with studio leaders to implement these organizational changes, further embed custom capabilities into franchise teams and drive operational rigor,” Wilson wrote, claiming that “EA’s business remains strong.”
EA recently released Jedi Survivor, which quickly became a bestseller amid strong reviews. It’s also planning to release Immortals of Aveum, Ascendant Studios’ new magical FPS game, which was delayed earlier today to add more “PC functionality.” It is expected to be released on August 22.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Chris Bruzzo as David Bruzzo. The story has been updated and IGN apologizes for the error.
Kat Bailey is IGN News Director and co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Do you have advice? Send her a direct message at the_katbot.
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