Peter Moore To Replace John Riccitiello As EA CEO?
Are you in the mood for a whopper of a rumor? Let's hope, because we've got one here for you: anonymous sources tell Game Front that Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello is about to be let go, and that current EA Sports boss Peter Moore will step in to take his place. It goes without saying that you should probably take this with a grain of salt (or five), but if this is true, it could mean huge things for Electronic Arts, which has been experiencing some stock price woes recently.
According to Game Front's sources, Riccitiello was asked to step down from his position at Electronic Arts after the earnings call that took place on June 30. Apparently, the departure of Riccitiello and subsequent promotion of Moore is "not set in stone" yet, as EA's board of directors still needs to vote on the change. However, tensions are rising at the Electronic Arts offices as the company's stock price continues to fall.
John Riccitiello has overseen EA since his return to the company in 2007. It was under him that EA-published games began requiring online passes, and he was in charge when the EA Store was relaunched as Origin last year. Riccitiello is no stranger to controversy, as Electronic Arts was named The Consumerist's Worst Company in America earlier this year.
The rumor comes just a day after Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter stated that Riccitiello had expressed concerns over being fired from the company. Pachter later followed-up by saying that though he was quoted accurately, he was merely kidding around. Perhaps he wasn't so far off the mark after all?
[via Game Front]