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Former PlayStation executive Connie Booth, one of the chief architects of PlayStation’s first-party strategy before her unexpected departure in 2023, will join EA to help lead its studio’s ongoing restructuring.
Booth’s position will be general manager of the action RPG division, whose portfolio includes EA Motive (Iron Man), Cliffhanger (Black Panther) and BioWare (Dragon Age, Mass Effect). She will report directly to EA entertainment director Laura Miele.
“Connie spent more than 30 years helping to build Sony Interactive Entertainment’s in-house studios and was responsible for guiding the development of some of its biggest franchises, including Marvel’s Spider-Man 1 and 2, The Last of Us, Tsushima Souls, Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank to name a few,” Miele said in a statement released by IGN.
“She is known for creating an incredible developer-first culture and supporting creative vision while driving innovation. I have known Connie for many years and I have always been impressed by her love and commitment to games. She cares deeply about game developer. She has an impeccable reputation within the development community and will undoubtedly have a positive impact on our games.”
Connie spent more than 30 years helping build Sony Interactive Entertainment’s in-house studios and was responsible for guiding the development of some of its biggest franchises
Booth, a member of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, joined Sony in 1989 and worked closely with Naughty Dog. As director of product development, she is credited with helping build the Studio system that underpinned PlayStation’s roughly 30 years in the console market. She left Sony in 2023 under unusual circumstances, with neither Booth nor PlayStation clarifying the reasons for her exit. Sony eventually issued a statement wishing her well but providing no further details.
Booth’s hiring shows EA’s desire to replicate some of PlayStation’s current exclusivity strategies, which have seen success with massive single-player games like God of War and Spider-Man. In launching its current reorganization, EA said it was prioritizing its franchises, with one of its pillars being “blockbuster storytelling” – an area in which Booth has extensive experience.
One of Booth’s main tasks will be to revitalize BioWare, which hopes Dragon Age: Dread Wolf will turn around its fortunes after Anthem and Mass Effect: Andromeda. BioWare has undergone painful layoffs in 2023, with its next installment in the Mass Effect series still in pre-production. Cliffhanger Games, on the other hand, is a relatively new studio that opened in 2023 and is working on a new Black Panther game, while EA Motive, founded by Jade Ryamond before leaving in 2018, is currently working on Steel “Xia”.
Like other companies in the gaming industry, EA is currently undergoing layoffs as part of a restructuring that has resulted in approximately 670 employees losing their jobs. EA also shut down Ridgeline Games and canceled Respawn’s Star Wars FPS. The layoffs are expected to be completed by the end of this month.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Connie Booth would be running Respawn. IGN regrets this error.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director and co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Any tips? Send her a DM @the_katbot.
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