Marcus Lehto, Halo co-creator and former Battlefield director, has voiced out against Electronic Arts (EA) after his departure from the company and the closure of the studio he co-founded. Read on to learn more about the situation and Lehto's comments.
Marcus Lehto Doesn't Have Anything Positive to Say About EA
His Team Was Among Those Laid Off As Part of EA's Restructuring
Known for co-creating the Halo franchise, Marcus Lehto went on to establish Ridgeline Games, an EA-owned studio that primarily led development on the FPS franchise Battlefield, in 2022. Lehto was leading the development of a narrative campaign set in the Battlefield universe.
However, Lehto left Ridgeline Games amid the wider internal restructuring happening at EA and the announcement of the Battlefield studio's closure. Lehto stated that he left EA on his own accord. EA said it has appointed leadership at Criterion Games, known for racing games Need for Speed and Burnout, to oversee the dissolving studio's efforts on Battlefield.
"Not been saying much here since I don’t have anything positive to say about EA, my recent departure, and how so many, including my team, are suffering due to the industry sweeping layoffs," Lehto stated on Twitter (X) last week in the wake of the EA layoff.
Miele clarified that Lehto's departure prompted EA to appoint leadership at Criterion Games to oversee the continuation of the Battlefield project. Additionally, some team members of Ridgeline Games were announced to join the EA-owned studio Ripple Effect to collaborate with teams across DICE, Ripple, and Criterion on the development of Battlefield.
Source:
Outgoing Battlefield director says he ‘has nothing positive to say about EA’
