DeNA West has announced the appointment of a new CEO, Shintaro Asako, following the resignation of former studio head Clive Downie.

The CEO shuffle at DeNA West comes a little over a year after Clive Downie assumed leadership of the studio following the departure of Ngmoco founder Neil Young.

Since joining DeNA West in 2011, Asako has served as its Chief Financial Officer but took over as CEO effective 21 October.

'The only people who can damage our chances are us'

Downie gave no official reason for his resignation from the post, but the departure has come of something of a surprise given that - by his own word - he had 'big things' planned for DeNA in 2013 and beyond.

Speaking back in April, Downie boldly stated that he wanted DeNA to become "the most successful entertainment company in the world" and had designs on snatching up "50 minutes of your time every day."

"The mark of a good free-to-play game is you don't have to pay to play. It's about engagement," detailed Downie.

"Three years ago we might have thought differently, but I think we're ahead of anyone in mobile games in terms of what we've learned and using it to make compelling content."

New CEO Asako will step into the leadership role of DeNA west as the studio prepares to launch a new free-to-play shooter on the App Store, Lawless, as a follow-up to struggling shooter The Drowning.