Former Electronic Arts Executive Returns As COO

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) — A former executive of video games developer Electronic Arts Inc. is returning to the company as chief operating officer on July 14.

John Schappert will be responsible for worldwide publishing, the online platform group, Electronic Arts Interactive, central development services and other units.

He left Electronic Arts in 2007 to join Microsoft Corp. He was corporate vice president of its interactive entertainment business, with oversight of Microsoft Game Studios and Xbox Live.

Schappert will replace John Pleasants, who is leaving Electronic Arts.

Schappert founded Tiburon Entertainment in 1994, which Electronic Arts bought in 1998. Tiburon was behind Madden NFL, NCAA Football and Tiger Woods games. At Electronic Arts, Schappert was chief operating officer for Worldwide Studios, then executive vice president.

Shares of Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts fell 31 cents to $20.52 on Thursday.