Patrick Soderlund Leaving EA After Nearly Twenty Years

It’s the end of an era. After almost twenty years with the company, current Chief Design Officer Patrick Söderlund is preparing to leave EA. After a period of transitioning that will take around three months, Söderlund will be ostensibly moving on to a new job sometime later this year.

The news comes from Electronic Arts itself, which published the news in the form of a company-wide email sent out by EA CEO, Andrew Wilson. The email was published on the company’s website, presumably verbatim.

Throughout his tenure at EA, Söderlund was a big part of the company’s creative direction. From being in charge of worldwide studios, to the EA Games label, and finally ending at Chief Design Officer, Söderlund is, among other things, credited in the message as the tip of the spear for Frostbite. Frostbite of course is crucial, the primary engine at EA today, the one that powers huge franchises from Battlefield to Mass Effect, and as of this year’s wave of releases, the entire EA Sports line.

As a result of Söderlund leaving, a couple pieces of the EA puzzle will shift a bit. First, EA’s SEED team will be joining together with the studios group. EA is “deepening” its user experience initiatives, and Jason Wozencroft (previously of Zynga) has been hired as “Head of User Experience.” Finally, the EA Originals and EA Partners teams are coming together with the Strategic Growth department.

[Source: EA]