It’s not uncommon for studios to move teams or developers around to different projects, or to restructure a studio’s business from time to time. Today, we have another instance of a fairly significant shake-up in one of gaming’s biggest names, this time from EA.
In an announcement today from EA, it’s been revealed that the company will undergo some pretty big internal changes, with EA Games getting a rebrand and splitting away from EA Sports to become two separate entities, all under the EA banner.
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The Company-Wide Reorganization Aims to “Empower” the Teams at EA
EA CEO Andrew Wilson detailed the restructuring in an EA blog post shared with EA employees today. In the post, Wilson explains that they will be realigning and splitting their studios into two different organizations, EA Sports, and EA Entertainment, formally known as EA Games. Wilson goes on to explain that the reasoning for this shake-up is to “empower our studio leaders” and provide more “creative ownership and financial accountability,” leading to better decisions making when it comes to development and marketing. He also states this move will accelerate the business by driving growth and deliver long-term value to players.
The EA Entertainment rebrand signals the studio’s desire to expand beyond gaming and will be run by Laura Miele, formerly EA’s chief operating officer. She will oversee key studios while continuing to take a leading role in “central technology and development services” in the company. She will work alongside Vince Zampella, who will lead the studios responsible for Star Wars, Battlefield, and Apex Legend, with Samantha Ryan remaining in charge of lifestyle franchises and blockbuster single-player experiences. In addition, Jeff Karp will continue to head up the mobile efforts for the company.
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As for EA Sports, Cam Weber, who has been a key player in the sports games from EA, will become the president of EA Sports with an expanded role in growing and shaping EA’s sports-related properties. This will include the upcoming EA Sports FC, the first football game by the studio without the FIFA license. The announcement also details several other key positions and promotions within the company, including a new chief experiences officer and chief financial officer, with Andrew Wilson overseeing both organizations alongside several executives.
This is the newest in a recent stint of EA-related stories, with the studio also announcing today that Immortals of Aveum, the Magic FPS game, has been delayed until August 22. They also recently announced a partnership with Nike Virtual Studios to bring what sounds like NFTs to its sports titles. It’s not known if this restructuring will result in layoffs in any of the studios affected or if this affects any games currently in development.
