Sony Loses A Major Name To EA

Longtime PlayStation boss Connie Booth left Sony in 2023--and no reason was ever provided for her departure. Now, she's landed at Electronic Arts in the role of Group Manager, Action RPG. In that position, Booth will oversee EA Motive, Cliffhanger, and BioWare, studios that are responsible for upcoming titles like Man, Black Panther, and the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect titles, respectively.

EA boss Laura Miele told IGN that Booth is "known for having created an incredible developer-first culture and supporting creative vision while driving innovation."

In her 30+ years at Sony, Booth helped to build PlayStation's internal studios and guided the development of titles like Spider-Man 1 and 2, The Last of Us, Ghost of Tsushima, Uncharted, and Ratchet & Clank, among others.

Miele added: "She has an impeccable reputation within the development community and will undoubtedly have a positive impact on our games."

Booth's arrival at EA comes not long after the company cut 5% of its workforce, or about 670 positions, in what was the latest mass layoff at a video game company this year.

David Scott Jaffe, the creator of Twisted Metal and co-creator of God of War, was first to report on Booth's exit from PlayStation in 2023. Citing sources within PlayStation, Jaffe reported that Booth was fired.

"She was fired. She was not let go. She didn't retire. She didn't quit. She was fired," Jaffe said. He added that "apparently" she had no notice or advance warning. "It just kind of happened," he said.

Jaffe went on to say that outgoing PlayStation boss Jim Ryan gave a mandate for PlayStation's teams to make more games-as-a-service titles, which in turn reportedly upset a number of PlayStation developers. "All of this was somehow blamed on Connie," Jaffe said.

Booth comes to EA during a period of change, as the gaming giant recently announced plans to shift away from some licensed IP projects.