EA to close Casual Label

Electronic Arts has announced that it is to close its Casual Label and merge it with The Sims Label, following the departure of Kathy Vrabeck.

Last year, Vrabeck was named president of EA Casual, before which she served as president of Activision Publishing.

"EA has learned a lot about casual entertainment in the past two years, and found that casual gaming defies a single genre and demographic," explained EA in a statement.

"With the departure of Kathy Vrabeck, EA is reorganizing to integrate casual games -- development and marketing -- into other divisions of our business."

"We are merging our Casual Studios, Hasbro partnership, and Casual marketing organization with The Sims Label to be a new Sims and Casual Label, where there is a deep compatibility in the product design, marketing and demographics."

Last year, Vrabeck spoke with GamesIndustry.biz about EA expanding and strengthening its business in casual games, and on the different approaches required to succeed in the sector.