EA Thinks Their Golden Boy Can Save Broken Battlefield 2042 – Give Him All The Freedom
Battlefield 2042 failed just a few weeks after release. Call of Duty creator Vince Zampella had to take the helm of the Battlefield franchise. In a conversation with investors it becomes clear: EA believes that Zampella can still save the game.
November 19, 2021 was the official release of Battlefield 2042 for all players. Just a few weeks later, on December 2nd, EA apparently realized that the game was a flop.
Oskar Gabrielson, longtime Battlefield developer and General Manager at DICE, was officially replaced by Vince Zampella that day.
Zampella is considered an absolute legend in developer circles. He not only invented the “Call of Duty” franchise and is therefore also called ‘CoDfather’. He was also the co-founder of the development studio Respawn Entertainment, which is currently celebrating great success with Apex Legends and bringing in a lot of money for EA.
In a conversation with investors, it becomes clear how much the EA thinks of Zampella. CEO Andrew Wilson hinted at how much freedom EA is giving developers to reinvent Battlefield 2042. And that they continue to hope for a lot from the shooter flop.
In our podcast we talked about the failure of Battlefield 2042:
EA CEO Says Vince Zampella/Respawn Model Will Save Battlefield 2042
Although EA internally sees Battlefield 2042 as a flop that failed to live up to expectations, they are not abandoning the game. Internally, Halo and demanding PC gamers are apparently also identified as a problem for the catastrophic state of Battlefield 2042.
As PC gamers reported, EA has not abandoned Battlefield 2042 or the franchise as a whole. CEO Andrew Wilson is said to have said in the latest Q4 investor call that they are taking a long-term view with Battlefield.
[Battlefield] is one of the greatest franchises in our industry, built by one of the best teams in our industry, and we expect it to continue to grow and be an important part of our portfolio for many years to come.
andrew wilson, CEO of EA
Vince Zampella in particular is identified as a great hope. Since taking over as Battlefield boss in December 2021, “the development process has reportedly been turned inside out”. With “thousands of updates made for the community, ‘Quality of Live’ has been worked on and the core of the game moved,” says Wilson.
Thus, the game has been completely switched to a “Vince Zampella/Respawn model” that Apex Legends is having so much success with. Wilson summarizes this model as a simple design philosophy: “Get to the fun as soon as possible.”
The ‘CodFather’ Zampella apparently gets all the liberties to put Battlefield 2042 back on track. If this model brings the hoped-for success, further investments should be made in Battlefield. Wilson says:
I think there is more work for us to do, and the team is committed to doing that work for the community. […] Once we feel like we’re in the right place with the core experience and game, you should expect us to invest and grow beyond where the game is today.
andrew wilson, CEO of EA
What do you think? With Apex Legends philosophy, can Vince Zampella still save the game? Or is the game beyond saving? Tell us in the comments.
A small, superficial innovation has at least made parts of the community happy again:
Innovation finally makes fans of Battlefield 2042 happy again – nothing has changed in the gameplay
Reference-mein-mmo.de