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EA exec Neil Young is to leave the company, an internally-distributed memo published by Newsweek has revealed.
The email, written by EA Games label president Frank Gibeau, says: "Neil Young has decided to leave EA to manage his own company. Neil is an 11-year EA veteran who has created a lot of great games and many good friendships at EA. We wish him the very best on his new project."
Young was one of the key execs overseeing games development on the West Coast of the US at EA, and most recently had been heading up a new division at the publishers called Blueprint, which was targetting social networks and new areas for gaming.
In the memo, Gibeau outlined how Young’s management colleagues will take over his various responsibilities following his departure:
"Responsibility for Blueprint, Maxis and the EAGL operations at EALA and EARS is now consolidated under a group of creative leaders reporting to EA Games Group General Manager and Senior Vice President Nick Earl. This includes:
"Louis Castle is stepping up to run the EA/Blueprint, based in Los Angeles. Louis – a 23-year industry veteran and a founder of the Westwood Studio – will oversee the innovative projects at Blueprint including LMNO – the second game in our series with Steven Spielberg.
"Lucy Bradshaw heads up the Maxis Studio, based in Emeryville. Lucy is an 11-year EA veteran who has overseen development on some of EA’s most popular franchises, including The Sims and SimCity. For the past three years, she has been providing leadership on SPORE."Mike Verdu is running EALA with oversight on highly anticipated real-time strategy games like Red Alert 3 and shooter games like Tiberium and Medal of Honor."
