Battlefield Play4Free manager departs

The Battlefield franchise has supplanted Medal of Honor as EA's top contender in the highly competitive first-person shooter genre. However, the publisher has lost one of the loudest voices in the expansion of that franchise over the past few years.

Yesterday, Ben Cousins announced through his Twitter feed that with the launch of Battlefield Play4Free this week, he would be parting ways with Electronic Arts. Cousins joined the publisher in 2008 as executive producer on the Battlefield franchise, working on such games as Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Battlefield 1943, Battlefield Heroes, and Battlefield Online.

In 2009, he was named general manager of EA's Easy Studio, which focuses on EA's virtual goods business. While there, he focused his attention on Battlefield Play4Free, Battlefield Heroes, Lord of Ultima, and Battleforge. Cousins is also notable for having served as creative director on Sony's PlayStation Home service for the PlayStation 3.

Cousins did not offer a reason for his departure, nor did he say what his next venture would be. For more on Battlefield Play4Free, which EA has targeted at the core shooter audience, check out GameSpot's recent preview.