EA wound down Ridgeline Games as a standalone Seattle-area studio on February 28, 2024. The company said some Ridgeline team members would join Ripple Effect and work with DICE, Ripple Effect, and Criterion on the next Battlefield experience. EA did not say that every employee transferred, or that Ridgeline’s planned campaign was completed or canceled.
What Ridgeline Games was making
EA announced Ridgeline Games on September 8, 2022, as a studio in Kirkland, Washington, led by Marcus Lehto, a co-creator of Halo. Its assignment was to develop a narrative campaign in the Battlefield universe, in collaboration with DICE and Ripple Effect. Lehto described the remit as expanding storytelling and character development in the series. EA’s studio announcement introduced the team and its intended work; it did not announce a released Ridgeline game.
What EA announced in February 2024
On February 28, 2024, EA Entertainment president Laura Miele said the company would wind down Ridgeline as a standalone studio in Seattle. She said some team members would join Ripple Effect and work across DICE, Ripple Effect, and Criterion on the next Battlefield experience. EA also said Criterion leadership would oversee single-player work after Lehto left. Miele’s announcement describes an organizational change and a partial staff transition, not the final disposition of every Ridgeline employee or the campaign.
What happened to Marcus Lehto
Lehto’s departure preceded EA’s announcement. GeekWire reported that he confirmed on February 27, 2024, that he had left EA of his own accord: “Yes, I left EA on my own accord.” GeekWire’s report establishes the timing and his stated choice; it does not establish that his departure caused EA to wind down the studio.
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How many jobs were affected?
EA’s workforce estimate and a separate analyst estimate refer to the company overall, not to Ridgeline specifically.
| Figure | What it refers to |
|---|---|
| Approximately 5% of EA’s workforce | EA CEO Andrew Wilson’s estimate of the company-wide restructuring’s impact in 2024; it is not a Ridgeline headcount. EA’s February 28 statement. |
| Roughly 670 employees worldwide | An analyst estimate reported by GeekWire in 2024, not an official EA figure and not a count of Ridgeline employees. GeekWire’s report. |
Neither announcement gives the number of Ridgeline roles eliminated or the number of people who moved to Ripple Effect.
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Why EA said it was restructuring
Wilson said EA was responding to changing player needs and organizing around its intellectual property, sports, and large online communities. He also gave the approximately 5% workforce estimate. Those statements describe EA’s public rationale for broader organizational changes; they do not independently explain every decision about Ridgeline. Miele tied the studio wind-down and some staff transfers to the change in leadership and single-player oversight.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was Ridgeline’s Battlefield campaign canceled?
The cited announcements and contemporaneous coverage do not establish whether the planned campaign was canceled, completed, substantially changed, or carried forward in another form. EA said some employees would join Ripple Effect to work with the wider teams on the next Battlefield experience, but did not say how much of Ridgeline’s campaign work would continue. Winding down the standalone studio is not, by itself, confirmation that the campaign was canceled.
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