Battlefield studio closure a "gut punch", Marcus Lehto says
EA's closure of Ridgeline Games last night was a «gut punch», the company's former boss Marcus Lehto has now said.
Ridgeline — previously led by ex-Halo co-creator Lehto — had been working on a narrative-led Battlefield campaign. The project will now be completed by Need for Speed studio Criterion Games.
Writing on social media platform X last night, Lehto said: «Gut punched to see EA lay off my team. So many very talented devs who were incredibly valuable to the Battlefield franchise.»
Newscast: Why are there so many games industry layoffs? Newscast: Why are there so many video game industry layoffs?Earlier this week, Lehto confirmed he had left EA «on my own accord», and would now take time away from video games to work out «what, if anything, I want to do next».
Lehto's fellow Ridgeline co-founder Chris Matthews already left the studio last month for a new posting at Halo developer 343 Industries.
Last night's news about Ridgeline came as part of a further wave of layoffs at EA, with five percent of the company — around 670 people — set to be let go. This is on top of the six percent of EA's workforce the publisher made redundant in March last year.
Announcing the news, EA boss Andrew Wilson said it was moving away from «future licensed IP» to focus on «owned IP, sports, and massive online communities», though the company's in-progress Black Panther and Iron Man titles will remain in the works.
However, a Star Wars shooter being developed by Apex Legends and Titanfall studio Respawn, reportedly a Mandalorian game, has been cancelled.
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