EA executive Patrick Söderlund announces departure

EA and DICE executive Patrick Söderlund is leaving the company after nearly two decades.

The announcement was made by EA CEO Andrew Wilson, who wrote a statement regarding Söderlund’s departure, which was shared with staff and then on the official EA website.

According to Wilson’s announcement, Söderlund will leave the company later this year to “begin a new chapter”. However, neither Wilson nor Söderlund have revealed what this will entail.

Who is Patrick Söderlund?

Söderlund is the Chief Design Officer of EA, meaning he’s in charge of the organization’s design initiatives. He’s served almost 20 years at the company, with roles including CEO of DICE (the studio behind the Battlefield series) and the Executive Vice President Of Worldwide Studios at EA. In addition, he oversaw development of the Frostbite Engine, which is now standard use for DICE titles.

It’s been a rocky year for Söderlund, who has taken the brunt of the loot box controversy surrounding Star Wars Battlefront 2, resulting in him admitting EA “got it wrong” with microtransactions and vowing that the publisher would learn from its mistakes.

What does this mean for EA?

EA is shuffling around some of its teams, but no major changes have been announced as of yet. Announcing Söderlund’s departure, Wilson pledged that EA will “lean into the talent and expertise” of its team and work on making creativity at Electronic Arts “a central element” of the company’s strategy.

EA hasn’t announced who will replace Söderlund but, going by the announcement it seems he’ll see out a three-month transition period before departing completely.