EA Tiburon executives have left the company to form a new Florida-based online games developer called Row Sham Bow, including
Madden 12 creative director Ian Cummings, according to media reports.
First reported by the
Orlando Business Journal [registration required], the new company will create 60 "high-wage jobs" in central Florida.
The emergence of the new studio coincided with the departure of
Madden 12 creative director Ian Cummings,
who announced last week on the official
Madden blog that he was leaving the company to "seek opportunities elsewhere... a new company," he revealed in a Twitter post that has now been removed.
Richard Wifall, EA Sports' chief technology officer, also
noted in a Tweet last week, "My last day with Tiburon and EA Sports was yesterday. End of an era. So excited to be doing the startup thing."
Games blog Joystiq contacted Wifall,
who confirmed that he is joining Row Sham Bow along with Cummings, former EA Tiburon GM Philip Holt and "and some other talented individuals."
"We aren't ready to talk about our plans just yet," he said. "When we are ready to talk, you can expect to find out more at
rowshambow.com."
EA Tiburon
announced last week that it was working on a new basketball sim for 2012, after the troubled production and cancellation of
NBA Elite 2011.
