EA CEO John Riccitiello leaves company

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello will leave his position after six years as company head. His temporary successor elaborated on the transition in a blog post.

Larry Probst will assume the duties of Executive Chairman while the company seeks candidates for the CEO position. Probst is EA's Chairman of the Board, and he served as its CEO for 16 years--more than half of its history--from 1991 to 2007.

Riccitiello took over leadership of the publisher in 2007. He and Probst "mutually agreed" now is the best time to bring in new candidates, after the company's financial performance failed to meet yearly expectations.

"EA is an outstanding company with creative and talented employees, and it has been an honor to serve as the company's CEO," Riccitiello said in a release. "I am proud of what we have accomplished together, and after six years I feel it is the right time for me pass the baton and let new leadership take the company into its next phase of innovation and growth. I remain very optimistic about EA's future--there is a world class team driving the company's transition to the next generation of game consoles."