EA is going 'all-in on Battlefield' with plans for a connected universe

Much like Assassin's Creed, Battlefield is morphing into a "connected universe." EA is plowing more resources into the series and revamping the structure of its studios to support that vision, despite a lukewarm reception (to put it generously) for Battlefield 2042.

"As a whole, we're all-in on Battlefield," EA chief operating officer Laura Miele told GameSpot. "Collectively, we are out to unlock its enormous potential."

Multiple studios in North America and Europe are said to be working on Battlefield games and experiences. One of those is Battlefield Mobile, which will be released next year.

Vince Zampella, the head of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Apex Legends studio Respawn Entertainment, is now in charge of the Battlefield franchise. Zampella, who took over at DICE LA last year, will continue to run Respawn. In addition to producing the original Call of Duty, he has worked on Titanfall and Medal of Honor games.

"We intend to build a Battlefield universe, one with multiple projects that are interconnected with the player at the center," Zampella 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."

Byron Beede, another Call of Duty veteran EA hired as Battlefield general manager this year, said EA has a "long-term plan" for the series. However, the main focus right now is on supporting Battlefield 2042.

Ripple Effect, which worked on Battlefield 2042's Portal customization mode, and a new studio run by Halo designer Marcus Lehto will help DICE improve that game. DICE just rolled out a patch that targeted Battlefield 2042's clunky user interface and fixed a ton of bugs.

Meanwhile, DICE general manager Oskar Gabrielson will leave the company at the end of the year. Former Ubisoft Annecy studio director Rebecka Coutaz is taking over that role.