Ken Moss, Electronic Arts’ chief technology officer, announced he’s leaving the company. Originally hired in 2014 after leaving eBay, Moss oversaw its technology investments from a global view, and oversaw the publisher’s Information Technology and Digital Platform divisions.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson shared the news on Tuesday with employees and later republished in an SEC filing. “The technical transformation that we’ve undergone during Ken’s tenure has been extraordinary,” wrote Wilson. “Technology has made this all possible, and Ken’s leadership has been pivotal for our company.”
In the wake of Moss leaving, Marija Radulovic-Nastic and Matt Thomlinson will be stepping into new roles. Radulovic-Nastic, previously serving as EA’s senior VP of development technology and solutions, has been promoted to its Chief Technology Officer. Meanwhile, Thomlinson, its chief information security officer, will become Chief Technology Officer.
“Both Marija and Matt and their teams will be part of our COO organization, reporting to [Chief Operating Officer] Laura Miele,” continued Wilson. “Together with Laura, they will define our technology strategy, accelerate our decision making, and drive further innovation.”
Technology is the name of EA’s next game
Prior to leaving EA, Moss published a blog post in May detailing a new online game platform codenamed “Project Atlas.” According to the blog, Atlas will unite the various technologies of EA games, such as DICE’s Frostbite engine, into a unified hub to build and run games. It will also include the option to tap remote access servers for extra processing power.
Atlas is intended to be “cloud native,” according to the blog, and will allow players to work with their own devices in tandem to “deliver things like hyper-realistic destruction within new HD games, that is virtually indistinguishable from real life.”
Between cloud-based gaming and the upcoming Skate being a live-service title, it’s clear that EA is putting a lot of its eggs into the social gaming basket. What remains to be seen is if a these future avenues for gaming continue to be viable, something it’s learned the hard way, and if audiences will get on board.
