John Riccitiello, chief executive of video game giant Electronic Arts, has submitted a letter of resignation is anticipation of a poor set of quarterly financial results.
Riccitiello, who took over in February 2007, will step down on March 30, saying he is “100 per cent accountable” for the company’s recent poor performance.
The progress EA has made on transitioning to digital games and services is something I’m extremely proud of,” wrote Riccitiello.
“However, it currently looks like we will come in at the low end of, or slightly below, the financial guidance we issued in January, and we have fallen short of the internal operating plan we set one year ago. EA’s shareholders and employees expect better and I am accountable for the miss.”
Among EA’s most famous game titles are Fifa, Battlefield and SimCity, though HumanIPO reported earlier this month the latest version of the latter was struggling to impress and Amazon had temporarily suspended sales.
Larry Probst, chairman of the EA board, will become executive chairman until a new chief executive is found.
Probst said: “We thank John for his contributions to EA since he was appointed CEO in 2007, especially the passion, dedication, and energy he brought to the company every single day.
“John has worked hard to lead the company through challenging transitions in our industry, and was instrumental in driving our very significant growth in digital revenues.”
