The Madden series is getting a new creative director starting early next year. Kolbe Launchbaugh, who has been working at Sony on the MLB The Show series, will make the transition as of January 9.

In a personal note on Operation Sports (via Joystiq), Launchbaugh outlines his plans and thanks fans of the MLB series. "I'm sure many of you will follow along as I get to know that "sub community" while I learn and interact with the Madden fans on the site," he said. "This is a huge change in my career, and a huge change for my family."

This will fill the vacancy from April when Ian Cummings left as Madden creative director. Given the rolling development of Madden titles, the feature set for next year might already be set, which means we may see more direct influence from Launchbaugh in Madden NFL 14.