Madden creative director, EA Sports CTO depart

This year's Madden entry--despite what happens with the NFL labor dispute--will hit the field on August 30. The game will place a heavier focus on concussions, but what it won't have is its creative director or chief technology officer.

In a post on the official Madden blog, Madden 12 creative director Ian Cummings announced the end of his tenure at the central Florida-based Tiburon studio.

"After nearly 11 years with Electronic Arts, I have decided to seek opportunities elsewhere. My time at EA has been an incredible ride," he said. "From my days in QA to my recent years as the creative director for Madden, I always found myself surrounded by the most talented people in the industry."

Another high-profile EA Sports employee also tendered his resignation recently. Chief technology officer Richard Wifall tweeted that his last day at the Madden studio was on Friday, April 15, and that he's looking forward to his next project.

Rumblings of the resignations first came via sports gaming blog PastaPadre, which reported last week that "several high level members" of the Tiburon team were "on their way out" and headed to "new studio founded by a Tiburon executive."

And according to gaming blog Joystiq, that new studio is called Row Sham Bow, and it is based in nearby Winter Park. Additionally, the studio was founded by former EA Tiburon general manager Phillip Holt.

Wifall confirmed to the site that he was teaming up with Cummings, Holt, and "several other talented individuals" at the new development house, but he wouldn't offer anything, saying, "We aren't ready to talk about our plans just yet."

For more on the forthcoming Madden title, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Madden 12.