Pop pop
As of January 8, PopCap CEO Dave Roberts, who joined the studio nine years ago, will be stepping down. Replacing him in the head role is John Vechey, one of the studio’s original co-founders. The only remaining one, in fact, as co-founder Jason Kapalka is leaving along with Roberts, though he will remain a creative consultant for the company.
On the heels of the release of both Peggle 2 and Plants Vs. Zombies 2, it seems an interesting decisions. Apparently PvZ2 didn’t monetize as well as EA would have liked and Vechey, speaking with GamesBeat, said of PopCap, “We need to get back to the place where we used to be and not just in mobile.”
Seems that means less work on sequels, as well. Or at least more work on new ideas. “Getting more new IP out per year is the goal,” Vechey said. “We want to formalize the creative process and get it to scale better.” I like the sound of more new ideas as PopCap turns back a bit more towards development. And even that Plants Vs. Zombies shooter actually looks pretty fun.
PopCap CEO to retire, cofounder will take over the Plants vs. Zombies studio(exclusive) [GamesBeat]