Battlefield 2042’s troubled launch leads to major shake-up at DICE and EA

Electronic Arts is shaking up the Battlefield franchise, just weeks after the troubled launched of Battlefield 2042. Vince Zampella, co-founder of Apex Legends and Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment, will oversee the Battlefield franchise going forward, and Marcus Lehto, co-creator of Halo and head of a new EA development studio, will helm efforts to bring world-building and narrative into Battlefield, according to a new report from GameSpot.

Oskar Gabrielson, general manager of Battlefield developer DICE, is also leaving that studio after nearly a decade at the company. On Twitter, Gabrielson described leaving DICE as “one of the hardest decisions of my life.”

“DICE has some of the best talent in the industry and the team is in great hands,” Gabrielson said in a separate tweet. “I’ll be here to support the transition over the next few months before I head out on my new adventure. I can promise you all there is a lot to look forward to on the Battlefield!”

EA also told GameSpot it’s working to build a “connected Battlefield universe” at a variety of studios, including DICE; Battlefield Portal developer Ripple Effect (née DICE LA); Marcus Lehto’s new, unnamed, Seattle-based studio; and Industrial Toys, the Alex Seropian-led studio working on a Battlefield mobile game.

Zampella told GameSpot that EA and its Battlefield-focused studios will “continue to evolve and grow Battlefield 2042” and “explore new kinds of experiences and business models.” In the immediate future, though, DICE, Ripple Effect, and Lehto’s studio will team up to “expand upon and improve Battlefield 2042,” according to GameSpot.

Battlefield 2042 launched in November, but without the franchise’s expected single-player campaign. Instead, developers DICE and Ripple Effect focused solely on multiplayer, bringing 128-player battles to the military shooter franchise and letting players create their own Battlefield mashups with Battlefield Portal. DICE released the latest update for Battlefield 2042, the game’s biggest patch to date, on Thursday.