By Manas Mishra
(Reuters) -Electronic Arts Inc said on Thursday its Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen is expected to step down in the summer of 2022 and the video game publisher will soon begin the search for its new finance chief.
Jorgensen, who has been the firm's finance head for over a decade, will help with the transition when a new CFO is appointed.
The development comes on the eve of the launch season, with the company set to release the much-awaited "FIFA 22" title on Friday, and "Apex Legends: Escape" and "Battlefield 2042" in November.
Jorgensen's other role as chief operating officer will be taken over by company insider Laura Miele, EA's Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson said.
Miele, who has been with the company since 1998, has been EA's chief studios officer since April 2018. She will assume the new role over the next few months.
Video game creators have emerged as clear pandemic winners after lockdowns drove people to spend more time and money on games.
With millions of new gamers, video game publishers are working on enriching user experience by adding interactive and social features to their popular titles.
However, EA has been facing stiff competition from Epic Games Inc's "Fortnite" and Roblox Corp that let users create a metaverse and interact with other players within the games.
In a bid to bolster similar social features, Redwood (NYSE:RWT) City, California-based EA on Thursday also named marketing officer Chris Bruzzo as its chief experience officer.
"Games are meaningful to us even when we are not playing, and we have tremendous opportunities to engage players beyond the boundaries of the traditional game experience," Wilson said.