John Schappert has left Electronic Arts to join the social gaming giant.
Reports state that EA COO John Schappert resigned on Monday after 22 months with the company in order to take an executive position with Zynga, the company best known for addictive (and “free”) Facebook games like FarmVille and CityVille. Zynga has expanded a bunch in the last couple of years, and the company is currently estimated to be worth around $10 billion.
The fact that Zynga is head-hunting high-level talent from “hardcore” game developers could indicate that the company is looking to expand beyond the world of casual social gaming. A console version of FarmVille might sound like a terrible idea, but it would probably be profitable and it could turn into the next Harvest Moon or Sims series if Zynga brings in the right group of people to lead the project.
Source: Reuters [via VG Chartz]
