The new name was chosen, it seems, because “the smallest idea can change the world”, according to a press release from EA. Apparently, EA believes that “true transformation in the game industry begins with small moments, like an enlightening conversation in a hallway or a prototype yielding unexpected results.” The name change and new direction for DICE LA was announced last year, when Respawn co-founder Vince Zampella began overseeing the developer with the intent of turning it into something more than just a support studio. “We’re so proud of our work as DICE LA and the DICE team will forever be a part of our DNA, but over the past eight years, we’ve developed our own culture and our own way of doing things,” said Christian Grass, GM of Ripple Effect Studios. “We’re excited to look towards the future, expand the team and establish our own identity.” Ripple Effect is currently working on Battlefield 2042’s mysterious second experience, which is being revealed later this month at EA Play Live. Alongside that, the team is also early in development on its next project, and there already are a few open positions. Given that the studio has a solid history of working on classic shooters, it’s intriguing to see what it could be cooking up next. “The talent here has a great track record of producing high-quality titles, and the studio’s set to make even more incredible games in the future,” Zampella – who will oversee the studio alongside heading up Respawn – added. “With an amazing new campus coming to Los Angeles and remote positions available, now is a great time to consider joining us." Our first look at Battlefield 2042 gameplay came during the Xbox + Betsheda E3 2021 showcase, and it showed off 128-player multiplayer on the new Conquest. The game is out October 22 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. This is just the latest of EA’s recent business realignment schemes: we’ve heard the publisher had killed BioWare’s work on Anthem Next, rumors have been flying about EA cancelling Motive’s Gaia project after six years in development, and EA has acquired Codemasters prompting the CEO and CFO to leave. Anyone want to predict what the company is going to do next?
