US publishing giant Electronic Arts has hired the former vice president of Shadow of Mordor franchise Monolith Productions, Kevin Stephens (pictured).

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, he is going to be heading up a brand new and as-yet-unnamed studio in the Seattle area. This venture will be working on an open-world action-adventure title, perhaps unsurprising given Stephens' pedigree working on Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War for Warner Bros.

"Kevin joining forces with Samantha and the incredibly talented teams at Electronic Arts adds even more depth to our creative collective," EA chief studios officer Laura Miele said.

"Kevin is an exceptionally talented game developer leader and we look forward to supporting him while he builds his team. As someone known for his open world action-adventure games, we know players will be eagerly awaiting more details on this new studio and its projects."

Samantha Ryan, EA SVP and group general manager, added: "The action-adventure space is a hugely important genre in our industry, and to us at EA. Players and fans of those games are so passionate and it's also one of my personal favourite genres. We've also recently had success with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and we would love to entertain more fans with similar interests.

"Personally, I always love supporting my teams to reach new players, whether that was an effort like Motive's Star Wars: Squadrons, which was a hit with players... or the work BioWare did recently on the Mass Effect Legendary Edition which has been a fan favourite and seen critical success... but we hope also brings in new folks to what was one of the most historically significant series in the genre's history. Both of those efforts expand our ability to reach these players."