John Riccitiello is the new CEO of Electronic Arts

John Riccitiello is the new CEO of Electronic Arts

World’s largest videogame publisher Electronic Arts has announced that they are replacing Larry Probst as its chief executive.

The company has now named former EA executive John Riccitiello as the new chief executive officer of the company.

Riccitiello would become the new CEO of EA from April 2. He had originally joined the company in October 1997 and rose to the position of president and chief operating officer before he left the company in 2004.

Probst has been facing criticism in the market on relying too much on releasing sequels of videogames. He was seen as discouraging the developers to bring fresh ideas in the new products being developed by the company.

Probst however said in a statement that he himself hand-picked his successor. He said: “This is the perfect time to turn over the reins. We’ve navigated through the most difficult times. The right time to put a new CEO in place is when good times are ahead, as opposed to challenging times. That’s the recommendation I made to the board, and they agreed unanimously.”