‘Battlefield 2042’ successors will feature narrative campaigns again as EA establishes new Ridgeline Games studio

EA established a new studio named Ridgeland Games that will focus on building narrative campaigns for the “Battlefield” franchise. This means the successors of the “Battlefield 2042” are very likely going to feature campaigns again.

The publisher announced the making of Ridgeland Games, based in Kirkland, Washington, on Thursday. EA said in a press release that the studio is headed by “Halo” co-creator Marcus Lehto.

EA added that the Ridgeline team is also joined by veteran developers. “With their ambition, passion, and years of experience across many of the best titles in the games industry, Marcus and team are excited to tell stories and take players on incredible adventures that are only possible within the Battlefield universe,” the publisher added.

EA first announced the establishment of a new Seattle-based studio headed by Lehto last December, along with some organization changes to developers working on the “Battlefield” franchise. At the time, the publisher also renamed DICE LA to Ripple Effect and said it would focus on the development of Battlefield Portal and named Respawn Entertainment co-founder Vince Zampella as the new head of the franchise.

The announcement of Ridgeline Games did not come with details about the “Battlefield” narrative campaign in the making. But Zampella said last year, “In [the ‘Battlefield’] universe, the world is interconnected with shared characters and narrative.”

DICE and EA made the bold choice of making “Battlefield 2042” a multiplayer-only game. It meant that, unlike “Call of Duty: Vanguard,” “Battlefield” players did not have a new narrative campaign to enjoy. It may not have been the best move, though, especially when it immediately became apparent that “Battlefield 2042” launched with bugs and other issues.

The latest “Battlefield” installment has not been received well. Even with the updates DICE deployed in previous months, “Battlefield 2042’s” recent reviews on Steam are still “mixed.” The game’s overall rating on the PC digital store is “mostly negative” after gaining only 30 percent positive reviews of the feedback from 112,804 Steam players.