Chillingo founders leave EA

Chillingo founders Chris Byatte and Joe Wee are the latest high-profile names to depart Electronic Arts.

Byatte and Wee set-up mobile games publisher Chillingo in 2005, and helped launch a number of major mobile titles including the original Angry Birds and Cut The Rope.

EA acquired Chillingo in October 2010 for $20m in cash, and both Byatte and Wee continued to lead the division for EA as director and general manager.

Byatte and Wee also led the 100% Indie initiative set-up last year as part of a collaboration between Samsung and Chillingo.

The departure of Byatte and Wee follows news that Dave Roberts and Jason Kapalka are leaving the EA-owned PopCap, while the founders at EA’s Criterion studio, Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry, have also announced they are moving on after their contract with the publisher ended.

MCV has contacted EA to find out what Byatte and Wee’s departure means for Chillingo.