PopCap co-founder John Vechey departs company

John Vechey is leaving PopCap after nearly 15 years with the studio, parent company EA has announced.

A post on EA’s site shares a memo to employees in which both EA Mobile president Frank Gibeau and Vechey himself address the departure.

"Many of you know me as the energetic, happy-go-lucky founder of PopCap, and I want to use that energy to give something back for awhile until I figure out what’s next," Vechey said.

"I will be spending some time working with environmental news non-profit Grist.org, of which I am a board member. I’ll be taking some non-violence workshops, furthering some of the things I’ve learned from being part of the Quaker community, while I explore peace and social justice issues, such as war abolition, prison reform, poverty and the effects of race and gender privilege.

"And after that? Who knows what the future will hold. Maybe I’ll stick with non-profit work, maybe start a new company, or maybe join a bigger one. For now, I’m going to focus on getting some space, so I can appreciate the last fifteen years."

Vechey co-founded PopCap in 2000 with Brian Fiete and Jason Kapalk – Vechey was the last of the trio to step down from his respective post. He took over as company general manager for retired CEO Dave Roberts in January.

"John leaves PopCap in deeply capable hands," said EA Mobile president Frank Gibeau. "The PopCap mobile studio will continue to be led by Steve Mauri, Cara Ely and Jon David, and the teams are already pushing forward into exciting directions.”

We have games in the pipeline including an all-new Peggle, new concepts coming through rapid development at PopLabs, and global opportunities for PopCap brands like PvZ. PopCap continues to be a core studio in EA’s mobile efforts, and I know our players will be thrilled with what’s to come from this talented group."

EA acquired PopCap in 2011 for $750m.