EA CEO Steps Down After 15 Years

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It's the end of an era at Electronic Arts.

EA CEO Larry Probst is stepping down to a lesser role in the corporation (executive chairman of the board of directors), and a former President and COO is returning to take the reigns of the biggest game publisher in the world. John Riccitello will now be EA's new CEO.

Probst has been in the driver's seat since 1991, and in the past 15 years, the company has grown and expanded significantly, solidifying their position in the video game world. Besides the ever-popular Madden NFL Football franchise, they also introduced The Sims, which blossomed into one of the best-selling series in history. And believe it or not, it wasn't until Quake III in 2000 that EA published a Mature-rated game, but since then, the company's titles span all styles.

EA has gone on record saying they want to have their name on "one in every five titles released for the three next-gen systems," which could feasibly mean triple revenue by 2009. But it's Riccitello who will have to lead EA to that promised land, who returns after leaving EA in 2004 to co-found Elevation Partners with U2 lead singer Bono. But now he's back from rubbing shoulders with celebs, and ready to lead one hell of a publishing house.

2/27/2007 Ben Dutka