Despite a botched Battlefield 2042 launch, EA isn’t throwing the towel in on the franchise. Not that they ever would, but a recent blog post from the publisher assures fans that the franchise is moving forward with multiple projects in the works.
This week, we learned about a new “narrative campaign set in the Battlefield universe,” coming from the Marcus Lehto-led studio, Ridgeline Games.
You might not know Lehto’s name, but every console shooter fan will instantly recognize his work. He co-created the Halo universe with Bungie back in the day. Lehto joined EA earlier this year and is now helming a new Seattle-based studio for the publisher.
What’s next for the Battlefield franchise?
- Battlefield 2042: Work continues on the most recent game, with the dev team prepping a return to the franchise’s traditional class system.
- A new Battlefield campaign. We just learned about this project this week, so details are slim. We know it’s being handled by Ridgeline Games, a new studio led by former Halo dev Marcus Lehto.
- “An entirely new Battlefield experience that will complement and build upon the series’ foundations.” That’s how EA describes the new project from Ripple Effect. This studio, formerly DICE LA, gained fans’ appreciation after its Battlefield 4 support.
- Battlefield Mobile (developed by Industrial Toys). We’ve seen several playtests for this game in a handful of regions throughout the Summer. Give the dev’s Twitter account a follow to keep up with the latest on that game.
- And DICE continues to lead development on the multiplayer side of things for the Battlefield franchise.
Today’s Battlefield has seen better days, but I also suspect better days are ahead. Respawn’s Vince Zampella took on the position of head of Battlefield late last year. And that part of EA has been firing on all cylinders. Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order are both fantastic games. Not to mention the criminally underrated Titanfall franchise.
The pieces are in place to get Battlefield back where it belongs. We’ll see if it all comes together in the next couple of years.
