Report: EA loses COO to Zynga

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Top level exec resigns from EA, rumored to nabbed by Zynga

According to documents filed by EA to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Schappert ended his 22-month long run with EA this Tuesday. Sources at Reuters allege Schappert made the decision to leave after the insanely popular developer of FarmVille and Mafia Wars fame offered him a lucrative and influential role within the fast growing company.

This marks the second time Schappert has departed EA. In 2007, he left his role as a manager in EA's gaming division to join Microsoft for a two-year stint, returning in 2009 as EA's second in command under John Riccitello. Prior to his exit, Schappert played a key role in expanding the company's casual and online gaming ventures.

“[Schappert is] a really good leader and he was one of the more capable guys at EA," said everyone's favourite video game analyst Michael Pachter, adding, "But in fairness, EA has a lot of capable people. So I think he's a loss for them but I don't think he's an irreplaceable loss. He's a gigantic addition for Zynga."

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Matt Bradford

Matt Bradford wrote news and features here at GamesRadar+ until 2016. Since then he's gone on to work with the Guinness World Records, acting as writer and researcher for the annual Gamer's Edition series of books, and has worked as an editor, technical writer, and voice actor. Matt is now a freelance journalist and editor, generating copy across a multitude of industries.