There have recently been some concrete rumors surrounding Battlefield about the next title, but one studio will definitely no longer be working on the new shooter: Ridgeline Games. As part of the latest wave of layoffs, EA has completely closed the single-player developer of Battlefield.
The future of Battlefield is currently a frequent topic in our news section. After the previous game director Marcus Lehto apparently took his hat off of his own free will and left EA, thanks to insider Tom Henderson there have recently been the first solid rumors about the next part of the popular shooter series. This should therefore also offer a free-to-play battle royale mode that will then compete with Call of Duty: Warzone.
Separately, one development studio at EA will no longer be involved in the next Battlefield: Ridgeline Games. This is the studio that was previously responsible for Battlefield's single-player content and was most recently led by Marcus Lehto. As a result of the recent restructuring measures and wave of layoffs at EA, Ridgeline Games has now been closed completely.
The development of Battlefield's single-player content will be led by Criterion, the studio primarily known for the racer series Burnout and Need for Speed. However, this had already worked on smaller parts of Battlefield V and Battlefield 2042 in the past.
Laura Miele, President of EA Entertainment & Technology, places the studio closure directly in the context of Lehto's departure: “Marcus Lehto recently made the personal decision to leave the project. In order to ensure that work can continue uninterrupted, we have We are immediately appointing new leadership at Criterion to oversee our single player work. As part of this change, we will be closing Ridgeline as a standalone studio in Seattle. Some of the team members will be joining Ripple Effect. They will continue to work with the teams at DICE, Ripple and Criterion “Work together as they create the next Battlefield experience.”
Marcus Lehto also spoke out via social media after the news became known and was shocked about the closure of his old studio:
Gut punched to see EA lay off my team. So many very talented devs who were incredibly valuable to the Battlefield franchise. https://t.co/N3lYSjeO6z
— Marcus Lehto 🇺🇦 (@game_fabricator) February 28, 2024
The next Battlefield has not yet been officially announced, but is generally not expected until fall 2025 at the earliest. After an initial flop, Battlefield 2042 caught on thanks to many updates and rework and has had a very active and satisfied community ever since.
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