EA Shuttering Marcus Lehto's Ridgeline Games With Some Moving to Ripple Effect to Continue Work on Battlefield

29.02.2024 - 00:31 / ign.com / Kat Bailey / Laura Miele / Marcus Lehto

EA is shuttering Ridgeline Games, the studio co-founded by former Halo developer Marcus Lehto that was tasked with developing the narrative campaign in the next Battlefield. The closure follows word of Lehto's departure earlier this week and coincides with a broader restructuring announced earlier today that will see EA lay off some 670 employees amid a shift away from future licensed IPs. The work that was begun on the Battlefield single-player campaign will continue.

In an internal note, EA Entertainment president Laura Miele said that Criterion producer Danny Isaac and studio head of creative Darren White will replace Lehto to continue work on the planned narrative campaign, with some members of Ridgeline Games joining Ripple Effect to continue working on Battlefield. DICE, Criterion and Ripple are all currently at work on the next Battlefield game, which has been confirmed but not fully revealed.

The closure is an abrupt end for Ridgeline Games, which was established in 2022 to work on the campaign led by Lehto. Lehto is a Bungie veteran whose portfolio includes serving as creative director on Halo: Reach. He joined EA in the wake of criticism over Battlefield 2042's lack of a single-player narrative campaign.

Lehto recently departed EA on what he says was "my own accord," with EA calling it a "personal decision." In her note, Miele expressed confidence in the upcoming Battlefield game, calling it "ambitious and exciting" and saying that it is "making meaningful progress." Miele praised the studios and leadership she says is "committed to building a Battlefield platform our fans will love."

EA's moves add to a period of turmoil for the games industry as Sony, Xbox, and other major publishers and platform holders cut jobs and close studios, with more than 6000 games industry workers are estimated to have lost their jobs in 2024 alone. CEO Andrew Wilson has said that EA's "primary goal is to provide team members with opportunities to find new roles and paths to transition onto other projects."

"I've been in the industry for 15 years and I've never seen things this bad,” said one developer who had been recently let go in our report on the ongoing layoffs. “Everyone is scared and waiting to see if their studio is going to be next. I am worried that this year is going to cause real, permanent damage and scarring to the game devs affected, and it's not going to be good. The aftershocks of this are going to resonate for the foreseeable future. Games are ultimately a labor of love and creativity, and a demoralized workforce is not going to be at its best.”

Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.