In a rather shocking development, EA CEO John Riccitiello will be stepping down as Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors member, effective March 30th. Former CEO Larry Probst has been been appointed Executive Chairman until the next CEO has been discovered.
Riccitiello, who began his tenure in 2007, stated that, “EA is an outstanding company with creative and talented employees, and it has been an honor to serve as the Company’s CEO.
“I am proud of what we have accomplished together, and after six years I feel it is the right time for me pass the baton and let new leadership take the Company into its next phase of innovation and growth. I remain very optimistic about EA’s future – there is a world class team driving the Company’s transition to the next generation of game consoles.”
Business has never quite been the same for EA since Riccitiello took over. While many practices such as micro-transactions took center-stage, he was also responsible for many of EA’s more creative titles like Spore and Mirror’s Edge.
One of EA’s more recent debacles has been with SimCity’s server troubles and always-online play.