EA's chief design officer Patrick Soderlund is leaving the U.S. publisher after over a decade. 

Company CEO Andrew Wilson broke the news in an open letter to employees, and explained Soderlund is departing to "begin a new chapter" later this year. 

"Patrick has been a trusted business partner and a great friend, and his inspiring leadership has had an outstanding impact on EA," he wrote. "As an integral part of the management team for many years he’s been an agent of change and transformation.

"From his early vision for Frostbite, which has now become a cornerstone for our technology strategy, to being a champion for Players First experiences, Patrick has always ensured we put creative at the center of everything we do."

Soderlund served as CEO of Battlefield developer DICE before the studio was acquired by EA in 2006. After the purchase, he became executive vice president of EA Games, before eventually becoming head of Worldwide Studios in 2016. 

He again stepped up as chief design officer in April this year, and was charged with delivering next-gen game designs, and driving innovation within the company's marketing and technology teams. 

EA will be doing some internal reshuffling to prepare for Soderlund's departure, and plans to bring its SEED tech research division into the studios group to help drive innovation and design at the "leading edge of games."