EA is making some big changes to how it is handling the Battlefield franchise. In an announcement today, the company revealed what"s next for the series, a brand-new studio focused on narrative Battlefield games, and a big departure.
Ridgeline Games is the latest studio to spawn under the EA umbrella. Halo co-creator and designer behind the Master Chief, Marcus Lehto, is heading this creative unit composed of industry veterans from around the world. This marks it as the fourth EA studio to begin work on new Battlefield projects, with it joining DICE, Ripple Effect, and Industrial Toys.
Unlike most modern Battlefield games, Battlefield 2042 launched as a multiplayer-only, "games as a service" experience. Ridgeline Games is going the opposite direction, getting ready to expand on the universe with a narrative campaign. It"s unclear if this will be a solely single-player experience or have some sort of multiplayer (perhaps co-op) connection still.
“It is a great honor to have the opportunity to collaborate with DICE and Ripple Effect and lead the charge on expanding the narrative, storytelling and character development opportunities in the Battlefield series,” adds Lehto.
EA also said it is “all-in on Battlefield,” with Respawn founder and the new Battlefield franchise head Vince Zampella adding that “with Marcus and his team at Ridgeline Games joining the world-class global team we have already in place, Battlefield is in the strongest position to succeed.”
However, the series is losing one of its veterans. After a 20-year career at DICE, Lars Gustavsson, the creative director of Battlefield, is departing from the studio. With this, the leadership team working on future Battlefield games touts Rebecka Coutaz at DICE, Christian Grass at Ripple Effect Studios, and Alex Seropian at Industrial Toys.