EA CEO John Riccitiello steps down

EA John Riccitiello

EA has just sent along word that CEO John Riccitiello has stepped down after six years as head executive and an overall 13-year career with the publishing giant. Board Chairman and former CEO Larry Probst acts as interim leader until the company finds a permanent replacement.

"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," Riccitiello says in EA's press release. "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 platforms."

In a letter sent to EA employees, Riccitiello explains the reasons for his departure, writing, "My decision to leave EA is really all about my accountability for the shortcomings in our financial results this year. It currently looks like we will come in at the low end of, or slightly below, the financial guidance we issued to the Street, and we have fallen short of the internal operating plan we set one year ago. And for that, I am 100 percent accountable."

Riccitiello's time at EA was marked highs and lows. He helped shift EA's focus to digital content over packaged products, launching the Origin storefront in mid-2011 as a first-party provider of EA's game stable. He also presided over the massively funded Star Wars: The Old Republic during its development at BioWare. The last major title launch he oversaw, SimCity, earned headlines for its always-online DRM , design flaws , and mixed reviews . The company also took a publicity hit when Consumerist readers voted it the worst company in America for 2012 .

"We thank John for his contributions to EA since he was appointed CEO in 2007, especially the passion, dedication and energy he brought to the company every single day," Probst says. "We appreciate John's leadership and the many important strategic initiatives he has driven for the company. We have mutually agreed that this is the right time for a leadership transition."

Omri Petitte

Omri Petitte is a former PC Gamer associate editor and long-time freelance writer covering news and reviews. If you spot his name, it probably means you're reading about some kind of first-person shooter. Why yes, he would like to talk to you about Battlefield. Do you have a few days?

Latest in Game Development
princeton review best game design programs 2025
The best game design schools, ranked by the Princeton Review 2025
Sharon Tal Yguado speaking at the 2025 D.I.C.E. Summit.
'These kids do not care about romance': Game devs want to know what today's teens want, and surveys say sex and romance isn't it
Palworld early access
Palworld studio's first move as a publisher is to save a struggling indie dev: 'This is the energy I want to see driving games in 2025'
Yakuza/Like a Dragon creator Toshihiro Nagoshi says his studio's new game won't be that big after all: 'it's not modern to have similar experiences repeated over and over again'
A man with a sausage-shaped head
'Calm down!' says Facepunch Studios: Garry's Mod successor s&box is getting a fan-requested sandbox mode and an alternative to 'Sausage Men'
Hellboy Web of Wyrd
Devolver has a new label dedicated to making games based on comics, films, TV shows and 'cult heroes'
Latest in News
Two brightly colored stormtroopers dressed like Run-DMC stand in front of PAX Australia's WELCOME HOME banner.
Tickets for PAX Australia 2025 are on sale now
An Enshrouded player in a recreation of Erebor from The Lord of the Rings
Kings under the Mountain! 33 Enshrouded players spent 10,000 hours to recreate this iconic location from The Lord of the Rings
A mech awakens.
Mecha Break developer is considering unlocking all mechs following open beta feedback
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again