Former FIFA boss David Rutter has been made group general manager of EA Studios Europe, VGC understands.

Rutter, who is often partially credited for the success of modern FIFA titles, has relocated to Sweden to oversee EA’s European studios including DICE, Criterion and Ghost Games, which is currently preparing for the release of Need for Speed Heat.

UPDATE 02/09: EA has provided VGC with the following statement: “David Rutter has moved to Europe and taken on the role of Group General Manager for EA Studios Europe to lead our creators at DICE Stockholm, Ghost and Criterion. For the last 12 years, David has led our FIFA franchise and EA SPORTS development teams at EA Vancouver and EA Romania to amazing success.”

Rutter joined EA in 2007 as a producer. His first game, FIFA 09, marked the start of a critical rejuvenation for the sports series and was the title that introduced the incredibly successful Ultimate Team mode.

He was a common face in community videos and press interviews until his promotion in 2014 to general manager of FIFA’s Premium operation, and then in 2018 he became general manager of the EA Sports Vancouver studio.

In EA’s fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, more than 45 million players engaged with FIFA 19 and FIFA 18, the publisher said.

Net revenue from Ultimate Team accounted for roughly 28 per cent, 21 per cent and 16 per cent of EA’s total net revenue during its 2019, 2018 and 2017 fiscal years respectively, “a substantial portion of which was derived from FIFA Ultimate Team”.