Madden creator Rich Hilleman leaves EA

The man who helped define Madden and EA Sports has left the company.

Polygonreports that the publicher’s chief creative officer Rich Hilleman departed earlier this month, although there’s no word yet on where he’s heading or why he has left.

Hilleman has worked at EA since 1983, rising from support specialist to his most recent post. During that time he was instrumental in designing the firm’s popular Madden series. However, he has become critical of EA’s work of late, saying at the 2015 DICE summit that EA’s games are difficult for gamers to master.

Develop has more details on this story.