EA splits Sports and Games in major organization shakeup

EA Studio announced it is realigning its studios into two different organizations; Entertainment and EA SPORTS.

After two years of major direction shifts, change is nothing new for EA SPORTS. In 2022, the studio shocked football fans by announcing it wouldn’t renew the FIFA license for their flagship football game franchise.

And then, after years of silence, EA SPORTS cleared a long-standing hurdle holding up a long-awaited revival of its college football series in May by finding a way to include college athletes’ names and likenesses.

Finally, in the latest of a growing list of shakeups, EA Studio is realigning into two primary organizations.

EA Sports

EA Entertainment announced as new organization

On June 20, EA announced that EA Games will be renamed EA Entertainment as it moves to split from EA Sports.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson announced that each organization will focus on separate IPs. EA SPORTS will continue to focus on managing all of the company’s sports titles, such as EA SPORTS FC, Madden, NHL, and its upcoming college football project.

Under the umbrella of EA Entertainment, Vince Zampella will continue his leadership on Apex Legends, Star Wars games, and Battlefield. Other “lifestyle franchises and blockbuster single-player experiences” also will be a part of EA Entertainment.

Respawn Entertainment

Wilson announced the appointment of a new EA SPORTS President and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to its American and European football titles.

“He will accelerate the teams’ ambitious growth plans, including building EA SPORTS FC and our American football franchises into connected multi-platform ecosystems.”

EA’s CEO also provided some insight into the purpose of splitting its organizations.

“This evolution of our company continues to empower our studio leaders with more creative ownership and financial accountability to make faster and more insightful decisions around development and go-to-market strategies.”

It remains to be seen what exactly this move means for the future of EA’s game development process, but it appears both organizations will have more autonomy over making their own decisions.