A major restructure will see Electronic Arts split into two companies: EA Sports and EA Entertainment.
Electronic Arts is shape-shifting. In a restructure designed to “empower our creative teams” according to CEO Andrew Wilson, EA is to split into two separate organisations. The first is EA Sports, which will continue to oversee such brands as Madden and NHL. The second is EA Entertainment, once EA Games, which will oversee such studios as BioWare, Respawn and DICE.
The move was announced yesterday (20 June) in a message from Wilson (as reported by VGC) to EA’s employees.
“This evolution of our company continues to empower our studio leaders with more creative ownership and financial accountability to make faster and more insightful decisions around development and go to market strategies,” Wilson wrote. “These steps will accelerate our business, drive growth, and deliver long-term value for our people, our players and our communities.”
EA’s restructure will also see various higher-ups shift roles. According to IGN, Laura Miele is moving from her previous position of COO and will now be President of Entertainment, Technology and Central Development at EA Entertainment – which is an awful lot to cram onto a business card, let’s face it. EA Sports will, meanwhile, be headed up by Cam Weber, who’s worked at EA for well over a decade on its various sports titles.
A few people in suits are being shuffled out of the company entirely: Chris Bruzzo, once Chief Experiences Officer, is set to retire, while Chief Financial Officer Chris Suh is also heading off for pastures new. Chris and Chris will be replaced by David Tinson and Stuart Canfield respectively.
EA’s restructure follows a turbulent few months for the gaming giant. At the end of March this year, the firm announced that it was to make 6 percent of its staff redundant – equating to around 750 employees across its assorted studios and departments.
Those redundancies were also described as “restructuring” by Andrew Wilson, who described the process as a means of moving “away from projects that do not contribute to our strategy,” he wrote in an announcement at the time.
None of this is to say that EA is in dire financial straits; in 2022, the company made $7 billion in net revenue.
