Battlefield 2042 has already failed a few weeks after its release. Vince Zampella, the creator of Call of Duty, 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.
On November 19, 2021, the official release of Battlefield 2042 was for all players. Just a few weeks later, already on December 2, it was apparently clear to EA as well: The game is a flop.
Oskar Gabrielson, longtime Battlefield developer and General Manager at DICE, was on that day officially replaced by Vince Zampella.
Zampella is considered a legend among developers. He not only created the “Call of Duty” franchise and is hence called the ‘CoDfather’. He was also the co-founder of the developer studio Respawn Entertainment, which is currently celebrating great successes with Apex Legends and is bringing in a lot of money for EA.
In a conversation with investors, it becomes clear how much EA thinks of Zampella. CEO Andrew Wilson hinted at how many freedoms EA is giving the developer in reinventing Battlefield 2042. And that they still have high hopes for the shooter flop.
In our podcast, we discussed the failure of Battlefield 2042:
EA CEO says: The “Vince Zampella/Respawn model” is meant to save Battlefield 2042
Although EA sees Battlefield 2042 internally as a flop that could not meet expectations, they do not give up on the game. Internally, Halo and demanding PC gamers are apparently identified as a problem for the catastrophic state of Battlefield 2042.
As PC Gamer reports, EA has neither given up on Battlefield 2042 nor the franchise as a whole. CEO Andrew Wilson is said to have stated in the latest investor call for Q4 that they are thinking long-term 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 remain an important part of our portfolio for many years to come.
Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA
Specifically, Vince Zampella is identified as a great hope. Since taking over as head of Battlefield in December 2021, “the development process has been completely overhauled”. With “thousands of updates, made for the community, work has been done on ‘Quality of Life’ and the game has been prioritized in its core,” says Wilson.
Thus, the game has been completely switched to a “Vince Zampella/Respawn model”, with which Apex Legends is currently so successful. Wilson summarizes this model as a simple design philosophy: “Get to the fun as quickly as possible.”
The ‘CodFather’ Zampella apparently has all the freedoms to set Battlefield 2042 right again. If this model brings the hoped-for success, further investments in Battlefield are to be made. Wilson says:
I think there is still more work for us to do, and the team is committed to doing that work for the community. […] Once we feel that we are in the right place with the core experience and the core game, then you should expect us to invest and grow beyond where the game stands today.
Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA
What do you think? Can Vince Zampella save the game with the philosophy of Apex Legends? Or is the game beyond saving? Let us know in the comments.
A small, superficial innovation has at least made parts of the community happy again:
