EA has closed Battlefield single-player studio Ridgeline Games

29.02.2024 - 06:53 / videogameschronicle.com / Andy Robinson / Laura Miele / Vince Zampella / Marcus Lehto / Byron Beede

Electronic Arts has closed Ridgeline Games, the studio formed in 2021 to work on a future Battlefield single-player game.

The Seattle-based studio was established in late 2021 and has been staffing up for its debut project, which was described as “a narrative campaign in the Battlefield universe”.

Last week it was confirmed that the studio’s co-founder, Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto, had departed the company for apparent personal reasons. Lehto reacted to the news on X on Wednesday, suggesting he was unaware of plans to close Ridgeline.

In a statement published on Wednesday alongside the announcement of nearly 700 company-wide layoffs, EA Entertainment president Laura Miele confirmed that Ridgeline would now be “winding down”.

Some staff will move to Los Angeles-based Ripple Effect, the exec claimed, which is working on a future multiplayer experience for the Battlefield series. Criterion Games, the studio behind recent Need for Speed games, will now oversee Battlefield’s next single-player project.

“Our vision for Battlefield is ambitious and exciting. The project is making meaningful progress, thanks to the strong leadership of Vince Zampella and Byron Beede and dedicated studios committed to building a Battlefield platform our fans will love,” Miele said.

“Today, we have the largest Battlefield team in the franchise’s history, with passionate people in place across the globe and our studios organized to benefit from both franchise and local leadership.

“Marcus Lehto recently made a personal decision to leave the project. To ensure our work continues uninterrupted, we immediately appointed leadership at Criterion to oversee our single-player work.

“As part of this change, we’ll be winding down Ridgeline as a standalone studio in Seattle, with some team members joining Ripple Effect. They’ll continue to work with teams across DICE, Ripple, and Criterion as they build the next Battlefield experience.”