Electronic Arts is sending word that it is making an important change at the top as its current Chief Operation Officer, John Pleasants, is set to leave to join a social gaming company called Playdom.

His replacement is a former Electronic Arts man, John Schappert (is John a favored name at EA?), who has been a part of the Xbox division at Microsoft, in charge of overseeing Halo and Gears of War.

Schappert has a rather long history with Electronic Arts, being the one who put together the Tiburon studio way back in 1994. The outfit went on to create the Madden NFL series, one of the all time best sellers for EA. Schappert has also overseen the development of important franchises like FIFA and Need for Speed and then went on to be the executive vice president of the Online Platform and Central Development Services Group division before leaving the company.

John Riccitiello, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Electronic Arts, declared that “We are thrilled to welcome John Schappert back to EA. He has a great track record as a leader and innovator in our industry. His years of experience with EA and in Microsoft’s Xbox business provide him great insight into recognizing what consumers want.” As a side note, Electronic Arts posted a few quarters of what analysts might call “negative growth,” and what we call “losses.”

The publisher is locked in a tough battle with Activision Blizzard as the most important gaming company and recent restructuring drives have, so far, generated more costs than savings.

Still, the company seems to be on the right track, with most observers impressed with the line up of videogame that it brought to E3, and Schappert could be the one to make the company profitable again.