Veterans of the UK games industry have set up Sunset Sugar, a brand new developer.
18.03.2024 - 10:45 / pcgamesinsider.biz / Marcus Lehto
Industry veteran Marcus Lehto has said he hasn't said much about his recent departure from EA because he has nothing nice to say about the company.
In a post on Twitter, the Halo co-creator said that he also had nothing "positive" to say about him leaving the publishing giant or the fact that many of his former staff – as well as folks in the industry at large – are suffering in the current jobs market.
"Not been saying much here since I don’t have anything positive to say about EA, my recent departure, and how so many, including my team, are suffering due to the industry sweeping layoffs," he wrote.
Lehto joined EA back in 2021 and opened Ridgeline Games the following year. The firm was focused on making a new Battlefield title.
All that came to an end in February of this year, when Lehto left the company and that studio was closed down. Prior to his recent comments, Lehto has said little on the matter, save for posting on Twitter that he left EA of his own accord, adding that it was a "very tough decision" to make.
The industry vet also said that he would be taking some time away from games. He took a similar hiatus in 2021 when his previous venture, V1 Interactive, closed down. It took only six months for Lehto to return that time around.
Veterans of the UK games industry have set up Sunset Sugar, a brand new developer.
Former staff from the likes of EA, Sony, Blizzard and Disney have set up a brand new triple-A studio called Muddy Robot Games.
It’s been a turbulent few years for the Battlefield franchise, and recent developments haven’t made things any smoother. Last month, it was announced that Marcus Lehto – general manager of Ridgeline Games, a studio formed to develop narrative-driven Battlefield campaigns – had left EA, and shortly afterward, it emerged that amidst EA’s mass layoffs, Ridgeline Games had been shuttered entirely.
The former director of a new Battlefield game has criticised EA, after he recently left the company and saw the studio he co-founded closed.
Ex-Battlefield director Marcus Lehto doesn't «have anything positive to say about EA» after the publisher shut down his Ridgeline Games studio shortly after his resignation. The Ridgeline founder and Halo co-creator was previously working on Battlefield's next singleplayer project.
Marcus Lehto – co-creator of the Halo universe and former lead of the recently shuttered Ridgeline Games – says he doesn't have «anything positive to say about EA».
Around two dozen Respawn employees have been laid off, part of a series of ongoing cuts at EA that will ultimately see around 5 percent of the company's workers lose their jobs.
A new game studio has emerged once again, raising hopes with a new immersive shooter.
The Battlefield series has lost another high-profile figure in the form of Craig Morrison, who has left his role as studio creative director at EA‘s DICE.
Battlefield has lost another creative director in Craig Morrison, who joined the franchise in 2021 before recently departing. This is the second time a creative director has moved on from Battlefield in 2024 alone.
The Battlefield franchise isn’t having the best of time as of late when it comes to their team – after having just lost Marcus Lehto last month, the company has now lost another creative Director. Craig Morrison joined the Battlefield franchise team back in August 2021 as a Creative Director, and later became the Studio Creative Director in December 2022. So Morrison has had a pretty good time it seems during his employment with the company.
In Shakespeare's Anthony And Cleopatra, said famous woman says "Give to a gracious message an host of tongues, but let ill tidings tell themselves when they be felt." I.e., when you have good news you can go round the houses, but if you have bad news - like sending an all-hands email to the staff at EA to let them know that, less than a year after the last round of layoffs, a further 5% of them are getting booted - then you should just come out and say it as quickly and simply as possible.