After more than 20 years with Electronic Arts, Frank Gibeau has parted ways with the gaming giant. Gibeau served as the executive vice president of EA Mobile and led the teams responsible for titles such as The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Plants vs. Zombies, Real Racing, and Bejeweled. Before heading EA Mobile, Gibeau acted as president of EA Games and EA Labels where he oversaw some of the company’s key franchises including Battlefield, FIFA, Madden, Need for Speed, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and The Sims.

Gibeau was considered a strong contender for the vacant chief executive position in March 2013. Six months later, EA awarded Andrew Wilson the position, who was head of the EA sports division. Gibeau had made a reputation as an outspoken frontman at EA, with public comments on subjects ranging from DRM as a failed strategy to the irrelevance of the NPDs. He was also very frank about EA's decision to abandon online passes, saying the profits weren't worth the damage they were doing to the reputation of the company.

Although EA reported a strong 2015 fiscal year with a Q4 total of 165 million active monthly users, an undisclosed number of EA Mobile employees were laid off earlier this year. EA said only a small number of employees were affected.

In a statement released by Gibeau, he said he’s proud of the games he’s worked with and is ready for new challenges. “It’s been a really great ride, the best job ever, jam-packed with incredible life experiences and filled with many great friends," he said.

“Throughout a more than 20-year career, Frank’s made many significant contributions to the company, our people and our games,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson said. “We thank Frank for his achievements at EA, and we wish him all the best in his next chapter.”

The CEO said mobile games will continue to be a core focus for EA and that the EA Mobile team will report directly to Wilson while long-term solutions are explored.