EA is Shutting Down Battlefield Studio Ridgeline Games

29.02.2024 - 02:47 / gamingbolt.com / Laura Miele / Vince Zampella / Marcus Lehto / Byron Beede / Ea

Electronic Arts has announced that it’s laying off roughly 670 people, and as you might imagine, a number of studios owned by the company are set to be impacted. One of the more severe cases is Ridgeline Games, which is being shuttered entirely. This follows the studio’s head and narrative director Marcus Lehto recently announcing his departure.

The studio’s closure was revealed in a statement by EA’s president of entertainment and technology, Laura Miele, who stated that development of future Battlefield single player content is being taken over by Criterion Games, which was confirmed to be working on the franchise last September, while some members of the team at Ridgeline will also be offered roles at Ripple Effect Studios, which is developing a standalone multiplayer Battlefield experience (allegedly a free-to-play battle royale title).

“Our vision for Battlefield is ambitious and exciting,” Miele wrote. “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. 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.”

EA first confirmed in 2021 that it had established a new studio in Seattle to work on narrative-driven single player campaigns for future Battlefield instalments, before formally unveiling the studio as Ridgeline Games the following year. Later, it was confirmed that the team was working with DICE on the next Battlefield game. Recent reports have claimed that the title is targeting an October 2025 launch.

Another studio that has been impacted by Electronic Arts’ mass layoffs is Respawn Entertainment, with EA having confirmed that the studio’s single player Star Wars FPS has been cancelled.