As part of EA laying off 670 employees, the Seattle-based studio Ridgeline Games, the same one founded by Halo co-father Marcus Lehto, is being shut down, and it’s single-player Battlefield game is being passed on to Criterion.
Lehto confirmed earlier this week that he had departed the studio, and had done so by “my own accord” he said in a statement to Twitter. When news of the studio’s closure broke, he said he was “gut punched.”
Not everyone from Ridgeline will be let go according to IGN, members of the team will be given new roles in Ripple Effect.
“Gut punched to see EA lay off my team,” said Lehto. “So many very talented devs who were incredibly valuable to the Battlefield franchise.”
https://twitter.com/game_fabricator/status/1762971612977262814
The Battlefield franchise has lacked any substantial single-player offering for some time now, so that the project wasn’t outright cancelled is at least good news.
Though it still feels like it counts for less when there is now fewer talented people than there were before working on this project.
Source – [IGN, Marcus Lehto on Twitter]