The accident occurred at 12:45 PM and resulted in two fatalities – the driver died in the resulting fire, while the passenger, ejected from the vehicle, passed away later in the hospital. It’s unknown what led to the crash, although eye-witness video is available, showing Zampella’s vehicle, a 2026 Ferrari 296 GTS, exiting a tunnel beforehand.

Zampella was 55 years old and an iconic figure in the industry. He co-founded Infinity Ward alongside Jason West and Grant Collier, which went on to create the massively popular Call of Duty franchise. Zampella and West would leave to found Respawn Entertainment, known for Titanfall, Apex Legends, and the Star Wars: Jedi series.

He would become CEO of Ripple Effect Studios, formerly DICE LA, and then oversee the Battlefield franchise. The latter would see a resurgence with the launch of Battlefield 6, which sold over seven million copies in its first three days.

Said scenarios range from skydiving out of a plane to breaching doors, destroying buildings, and riding down avenues in armored trucks on a turret. The focus is on a foe named Kincaid, and in typical Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the squad is a bit divided on how to go about things. Which is a good thing, given the success of that game’s campaign.

Battlefield 6 launches on October 10th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. While the campaign will doubtless provide enough thrills, multiplayer is arguably the biggest appeal, with multiple maps and modes. Players can partake in classic modes like Conquest and Rush or new modes like Escalation. Head here for details on some of the changes following the open beta or check out our feature for more information.

Speaking about Battlefield during EA’s recent quarterly earnings call, Wilson touched on the next instalment in the franchise, calling it “one of the most ambitions projects” in the company’s history, and providing assurances that the development team that has been assembled to work on it is aiming to “deliver an epic Battlefield experience.”

“The community is energized by what our teams are doing and excited for what comes next,” Wilson said. “This is not just one of our top priorities, it is also one of the most ambitious projects in our history. We have brought together the very best team coupled with the resources and technology they need to deliver an epic Battlefield experience.”

Electronic Arts has multiple studios currently working on Battlefield. In addition to lead developer DICE, the next Battlefield’s single-player campaign is being led by Criterion Games, in the wake of Ridgeline Games being shuttered earlier this year. In April, it was also announced that Dead Space developer Motive Studio was forming a new internal team to work on Battlefield.

As per previous leaks, the next Battlefield game is targeting an October 2025 release. Also working on the first-person shooter franchise is Ripple Effect Studios, with reports claiming that the team is developing a standalone free-to-play battle royale title.

The studio’s closure was revealed in a statement by EA’s president of entertainment and technology, Laura Miele, who stated that development of future Battlefield single player content is being taken over by Criterion Games, which was confirmed to be working on the franchise last September, while some members of the team at Ridgeline will also be offered roles at Ripple Effect Studios, which is developing a standalone multiplayer Battlefield experience (allegedly a free-to-play battle royale title).

“Our vision for Battlefield is ambitious and exciting,” Miele wrote. “The project is making meaningful progress, thanks to the strong leadership of Vince Zampella and Byron Beede and dedicated studios committed to building a Battlefield platform our fans will love. Today, we have the largest Battlefield team in the franchise’s history, with passionate people in place across the globe and our studios organized to benefit from both franchise and local leadership.

“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.”

EA first confirmed in 2021 that it had established a new studio in Seattle to work on narrative-driven single player campaigns for future Battlefield instalments, before formally unveiling the studio as Ridgeline Games the following year. Later, it was confirmed that the team was working with DICE on the next Battlefield game. Recent reports have claimed that the title is targeting an October 2025 launch.

Another studio that has been impacted by Electronic Arts’ mass layoffs is Respawn Entertainment, with EA having confirmed that the studio’s single player Star Wars FPS has been cancelled.

Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson has published a new report that claims that Ripple Effect’s unknown Battlefield game is going to be a free-to-play battle royale title. Headed up by former Call of Duty boss Byron Beede, the studio is seemingly envisioning the game, which is supposedly Beede’s personal “brainchild”, as an experience similar to Call of Duty: Warzone.

That means the battle royale title will tie into the series’ next game, though whether that means it will be available at the same time, or launch some time later (or before) is unspecified. In addition to a classic battle royale mode, the game will allegedly also have a new mode named Gauntlet, where teams will compete against each other in objective-based rounds, with the lowest-scoring team being kicked out at the end of each one.

Previously, Beede has said that Ripple Effect Studios’ Battlefield game will “complement and build upon the series’ foundations.” Read more on that through here.

Of course, this isn’t Battlefield’s first crack at a battle royale experience, though it’s fair to say that Battlefield 5’s Firestorm and Battlefield 2042’s Hazard Zone didn’t hit the mark the way fans had hoped. They weren’t full-fledged free-to-play experiences though, so perhaps the series will find more success with a new model.

According to the report, the next mainline Battlefield game is targeting an October 2025 launch, and is being internally billed as a “back to the roots” game for the series. As such, the game will feature 64-player multiplayer battles, while also bringing back the series’ four-class system and implementing improvements to the destruction mechanics, something that previous job listings have also suggested.

Allegedly, the game will take place in a modern-day setting (somewhere between the years 2025 and 2030), while placing “a strong story-driven emphasis on modern technology used in war”. What that means for a single player campaign – in development at Ridgeline Games – remains to be seen, especially with director and studio head Marcus Lehto recently having left the company.

Henderson also claims that the next Battlefield game will be accompanied with a tie-in free-to-play battle royale experience developed by Ripple Effect Studios. Read more on that through here.

As spotted by Tech4gamers, a job ad published by Ripple Effect Studios for the position of VFX Director says the studio is looking to recruit someone who can “help us create the most realistic and exciting destruction effects in the industry.”

Ripple Effect Studios is working on a standalone experience in the Battlefield series, one that EA has previously said will “complement and build upon the series’ foundations”.

Destruction physics have been central to the Battlefield franchise’s gameplay experience for a long time now, and expectations are always high from new instalments on that front. Given the impressive advancements we’ve seen in destruction technology in recent releases – like The Finals, for instance, which is incidentally developed by former Battlefield developers – it should be interesting to see how Battlefield looks to raise the bar.

Meanwhile, the next mainline Battlefield game is in development as well, with DICE leading production, and it will also feature a single player campaign built by Ridgeline Games.

In September, EA also announced that Need for Speed developer Criterion had been pulled in to provide development support on future Battlefield titles.

CEO Andrew Wilson mentioned the next Battlefield game only in passing while speaking about major upcoming games that EA studios are currently at work on, and in doing so, referred to the title as “a reimagination of Battlefield as a truly connected ecosystem.”

Wilson did not elaborate further, so what shape that “connected ecosystem” will take remains to be seen. Presumably, EA will look to do something with multiple connected games and experiences all feeding into a single hub, similar to the model that Call of Duty has adopted in recent years.

Back in 2021, EA announced that it was adopting a new multi-studio model for Battlefield that will see multiple different teams working on several different kinds of experiences within the franchise. Currently, DICE is working on the next mainline Battlefield game, which will also feature a narrative-driven single player campaign developed by Ridgeline Games. The game is rumoured to launch sometime in 2024. Meanwhile, Ripple Effect Studios is also currently working on a separate Battlefield experience.

Earlier this year, EA announced it had cancelled Battlefield Mobile.

In its recent Q4 2023 earnings call (transcript via The Motley Fool), CEO Andrew Wilson was asked if there were any updates on projects associated with the Battlefield IP. Wilson said, “We don’t have any date announcements or future announcements, if that’s the question, certainly this time. What I’d say is I think we’ve put together an extraordinary creative leadership team. I know we’ve got the team gathering this week in Sweden.

“I had a call this morning with some of the leadership, and they’re very bullish on how that’s progressing. I think we’ve got extraordinary confidence in that team and extraordinary confidence in the progress they’re making against the future of that franchise. And I come back to we’re not just building a game. We’re building a platform, content as a platform, to drive live services over the decades to come.”

Over time and when it’s appropriate, Electronic Arts will talk more about Battlefield’s future. However, it’s “firmly implanted” in “that first pillar of our strategy: building games and experiences that attract and entertain massive online communities across platforms, business models and geographies. And we think that Battlefield is going to be a meaningful part of our future. And we’ll share more as time progresses.”

Following the release of Battlefield 2042, EA established a multi-studio initiative to work on the series with Respawn Entertainment head Vince Zampella as the franchise head. DICE is rumored to be working on a new mainline title, which could launch in 2024, while Ripple Effect Studios has a new Battlefield experience in the works. Then there’s Ridgeline Games, led by Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto, working on a narrative campaign for Battlefield. Stay tuned for any updates in the coming years.

Beede has since noted that this “entirely new” Battlefield experience will “complement and build upon the series’ foundations.” What this means is currently unknown.

Lehto and his team will be “leading the charge to develop a narrative campaign set in the Battlefield universe that will engage fans in new and exciting ways while remaining true to the classic elements of the series.” It wasn’t confirmed if this was a new game or part of Battlefield 2042’s future content. There will be a “variety of experiences” to expand on the latter’s universe which will appear in “later seasons,” but what this means is also unknown.

DICE will continue focusing on multiplayer, which includes support for Battlefield 2042. However, Beede announced that creative director Lars Gustavsson would be leaving Electronic Arts for a “new adventure.” Known as “Mr Battlefield,” Gustavsson has been with DICE since 2000 and worked on Battlefield 1942, the first game in the series.

“Lars has dedicated a substantial portion of his life to Battlefield and is proud to have helped shape the franchise into what it is today. He is excited to pass the baton to the next generation of Battlefield creators at DICE, Ripple Effect, Industrial Toys, and Ridgeline Games.”

The next Battlefield is rumored for a 2024 release and could be a hero shooter. As for Battlefield 2042, it’s in the middle of Season 2: Master of Arms, with two more still to go. Though rumored to have a “skeleton crew” while DICE prepares for the next sequel, general manager Rebecka Coutaz said the studio had “no time” for other projects.

Of course, rumors before this indicated that a “large portion” of DICE was working on the next entry which is seemingly in pre-production. As always, stay tuned for official news and updates.