EA Shuts Down Ridgeline Games Studio

Sad news for the impacted employees indeed! During my career I've seen multiple reorganizations, restructerings or whatever term they label these initiatives, where skilled people were made redundant. Unfortunately this is part of business in the big corporations nowadays. As an employee you're just a number to them.

And if you think that these big corporations care about the customers who buy their products you're wrong! There's only 1 kind of customers they care for, shareholders! If it means they need to impact employees' incomes to give other people more money by means of dividends paid, they will do so.

670 people that have to find a new job, that's a lot of resume's. Not a good time for anybody.

EA didn't close Ridgeline because he resigned, it would have been the other way round.

I think that means there won't be a solo Campaign.

@CPU_UK Criterion will be handling it now IIRC.

Edit: Found the quote.

"To ensure our work continues uninterrupted, we immediately appointed leadership at Criterion to oversee our single-player work. As part of this change, we'll be winding down Ridgeline as a standalone studio in Seattle, with some team members joining Ripple Effect".

https://www.ea.com/news/a-note-from-laura-miele?isLocalized=true

Marcus Lehto recently made a personal decision to leave the project. To ensure our work continues uninterrupted, we immediately appointed leadership at Criterion to oversee our single-player work. As part of this change, we'll be winding down Ridgeline as a standalone studio in Seattle, with some team members joining Ripple Effect. They'll continue to work with teams across DICE, Ripple, and Criterion as they build the next Battlefield experience.

https://www.ea.com/news/a-note-from-laura-miele

It still sounds like there was a disagreement between the leadership at Ridgeline studio and EA. Which resulted in EA closing the studio.

Honestly, I don't think there is any way that Marcus Lehto didn't know what was coming hence his quitting. Sad for those that have to find new jobs.

Marcus left because they told him they were shuttering Ridgeline, not the other way round. He left and literally the next day they announced the closure.