EA has announced that a fresh Battlefield campaign is being developed under Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto.
While Battlefield 2042 released without a single-player campaign, future entries in the multiplayer FPS series look set to return to form. Lehto was brought on board last year to head up new EA subsidiary studio Ridgeline Games, and will focus on “developing a narrative campaign set in the Battlefield universe”, according to a press release (opens in new tab).
Lehto is a co-creator of the Halo franchise, who worked as art director for the first four mainline Halo games, and creative director on Halo: Reach. He’s even credited with designing Master Chief. EA is likely hoping to build off his experience, highlighting in a blog post (opens in new tab) his “long legacy of creating fascinating worlds and gripping narratives”.
Details of what this new narrative campaign will look like are scant, but EA says it “will engage fans in new and exciting ways while remaining true to the classic elements of the series”. It’s unclear when it will appear, or which future Battlefield game it will be part of. We know for definite that it will not release for Battlefield 2042.
Bye-bye Battlefield 2042
The announcement is just the latest step in Dice’s attempt to shuffle away from Battlefield 2042’s disappointing legacy. The multiplayer-only shooter wasn’t well received at launch for its lack of a single-player campaign, alongside the bevy of game-breaking glitches that quickly sent its active playerbase plummeting.
It’s in a better spot now, with the recent release of Season 2 causing a slight resurgence in its community. But Dice will likely be keen to avoid replicating the mistake, and not release yet another flop that it admits has taken nine months to get “on the right track”.
That EA is turning to an industry veteran like Lehto suggests this upcoming narrative campaign could represent a major shift for the franchise. Lehto says he wants to “lead the charge on expanding the narrative, storytelling and character development opportunities in the Battlefield series”, which would certainly be a change of pace from the usual mustachioed gun-toting missions of previous games.
Other, bigger changes are also afoot. In the same blog post, EA confirmed that Battlefield creative director Lars Gustavsson was leaving developer Dice after 20 years. He’s been a figurehead of the series since its origins, but wants to “pass the baton to the next generation of Battlefield creators”. Battlefield could look very different in the future.