EA has hired Call of Duty’s general manager to lead the Battlefield franchise

Electronic Arts has reportedly appointed Call of Duty’s general manager to head up Battlefield, its in-house rival to Activision’s military FPS franchise.

According to IGN, Byron Beede has joined EA as Battlefield SVP and GM.

EA said the move “signals a strategic, long-term commitment to the growth of the franchise”.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Beede (pictured) was Marvel’s director of global brand management prior to joining Activision Blizzard—where he’s still listed as working—in 2009.

Beede held various roles at Activision, including executive vice president and general manager of Destiny, and most recently the same position for the Call of Duty franchise.

During his time overseeing Call of Duty, Activision launched free-to-play series entries Call of Duty Mobile in November 2019 and Warzone in March 2020. The former has been downloaded over 500 million times and the latter has attracted over 100 million players.

Beede will report directly to Respawn founder and DICE LA head Vince Zampella.

EA confirmed on Tuesday that it will reveal the next Battlefield game on June 9, ahead of its release for consoles and PC this holiday season.

Further reading

Battlefield 6 reveal event confirmed for June 9

EA's new Battlefield game is set to release on both previous and current-gen consoles

A low-quality version of what is claimed to be a Battlefield 6 trailer intended for internal use seemingly leaked in full last week.

Series creator DICE announced in April that it’s also developing a standalone Battlefield mobile game for release in 2022.

Battlefield 4 is currently available as a free download to Amazon Prime customers as part of its Prime Gaming subscription.