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As part of a major studio shake-up EA announced today, EA has signaled an intent to create a “connected Battlefield universe.” The recently launched Battlefield 2042 isn’t going anywhere, but the publisher plans to expand on the franchise in a big way. Much as Activision has complemented its annual Call of Duty releases with CoD Mobile and Warzone, it sounds as if EA wants to increase Battlefield’s prominence, and that could include new games from studios including Ripple Effect.
Speaking with GameSpot, Vince Zampella–the Respawn co-founder who is now also overseeing the Battlefield franchise–explained that the intent here is not to replace 2042, but to create a “connected Battlefield universe.”
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Now Playing: Battlefield 2042 Video Review
“This is an ‘And’ strategy in many ways,” he said. “We will continue to evolve and grow Battlefield 2042, and we’ll explore new kinds of experiences and business models along the way that we can add to that foundation to provide an awesome array of experiences for our players. In this universe, the world is interconnected with shared characters and narrative. This universe is also built with our community as we harness the power of Portal and user generated content that puts creativity in the hands of our players.”
At this point, the connected universe plans sound vague due to how early in the process EA appears to be. We already know Battlefield Mobile is on the way from Industrial Toys, the studio co-founded by former Bungie president Alex Seropian, and EA recently suggested a new free-to-play Battlefield game could come in the future, though Zampella didn’t confirm any specific plans.
Beyond that, there is at least one other possible game in the works from Ripple Effect (formerly DICE LA). The new Seattle-based studio founded by Marcus Lehto (best known for his prominent role on the Halo series), meanwhile, is working on world-building and narrative within the Battlefield franchise. EA indicated that each is working on a new “experience” in the Battlefield universe. That doesn’t explicitly mean that these will both take the forms of games–the “experiences” terminology allows some wiggle room for what they will turn out to be.
“We intend to build a Battlefield universe, one with multiple projects that are interconnected with the player at the center,” Zampella said. “We plan to grow Battlefield and meet players where they play through various experiences and business models, including our upcoming Battlefield Mobile coming in 2022 from Alex Seropian and Industrial Toys.”
