Electronic Arts announced a major restructuring that saw it rename its long-runningEAGames division into EA Entertainment, in addition to introducing several other changes to its corporate composition. This development coincides with the publisher’snewly announced decision to delayImmortals of Aveum.
Founded in 1982 by one of Apple’s first 50 employees, Trip Hawkins, Electronic Arts established the EA Games brand in 1999 as an all-encompassing moniker of its publishing division. This makes it the company’s second-oldest in-house label after EA Sports, which started in 1991. That particular division just went through a somewhat turbulent 12-month period that sawEA Sports lose its FIFA licenseand put out a poorly-reviewedMadden NFL 23.
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In a June 20 announcement,EACEO Andrew Wilson revealed that the company underwent a major reshuffle by organizing all of its studios into EA Sports and EA Entertainment, formerly EA Games. The industry veteran labeled the move as an “evolution” of EA which will allow its many divisions to seize “more creative ownership and financial accountability” over their projects, all with the goal of improving efficiency. The restructuring should hence boost the company’s growth prospects and ensure “long-term value” for both its employees and players alike, Wilson concluded.
The announcement of the reshuffling mentioned no particular changes to the company’s overall content strategy. WithEA stressing the importance of single-player gamesas late as last year, this corporate restructuring presumably won’t inhibit its willingness to finance projects such asStar Wars Jedi: Survivorand theDead Spaceremake moving forward.
The move also won’t affect individual studio leadership at EA’s many subsidiaries such as BioWare, Codemasters, Motive, and Respawn Entertainment. EA’s stock fell 1.75 points in the run-up to today’s announcement which came at the tail end of NASDAQ’s business hours. In other words, the investors' thoughts on this restructuring will only become apparent once the market re-opens on June 21.
