BioWare Becomes EA Brand Alongside Games, Sports and Play

Video game publisher Electronic Arts has announced an internal reorganization which sees developer BioWare become the fourth major brand, alongside EA Sports, which deals with simulation, EA Play, which is focused on mobile and social titles, and EA Games.

EA has also announced that Peter Moore, the leader of the EA Sports division, has been promoted to the position of Chief Operations Officer while Frank Gibeau, who was the EA Games boss, has now become the top executive at the newly created EA Labels division.

EA Interactive, which is made up of PopCap, Playfish, Pogo, EA mobile, Hasbro and other online interested, also has a new leader, Barry Cottle, who was previously with EA Mobile.

John Riccitiello, who is the chief executive officer at Electronic Arts, has written about the changes on the company blog, saying, “I think it’s a great reflection on EA that we are able to tap so much world-class leadership from within our own ranks. The depth of talent and leadership in this company is inspiring.”

He added, “The people who succeed here are the ones who map their creative vision over a deep understanding of what our consumers want. Our Label structure reflects that strategy. It creates a close partnership between developers and product marketers that connects the creative process to our consumers.”

The reorganization shows how important BioWare has become for Electronic Arts and how much the company now relies on series like Dragon Age and Mass Effect.

BioWare is also working on launching the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is seen as a long-term investment by Electronic Arts and a potential rival for the market leader World of Warcraft from Blizzard.

Electronic Arts has managed to post good results for the last financial quarter and is aiming to focus on social and mobile gaming for future success.