DICE has a history of rocky launches. Battlefield 4 stumbled out of the blocks in 2013 before months of updates got it on its feet, while the microtransactions present in Star Wars Battlefront 2 upon its launch in 2017 saw it draw criticism from all quarters. Battlefield 2042 continued the unwelcome trend, launching with key features missing, extensive bugs and controversial additions such as hero ‘Specialist’ characters, attracting overwhelmingly negative reviews from players on Steam.
Things have improved but it’s taken time, as well as one of the most radical overhauls the series has seen behind the scenes. Last December EA announced an all-star management team was being put in place to help get Battlefield back on track, with Vince Zampella bringing his expertise from overseeing the likes of Call of Duty and more recently Respawn’s Apex Legends to manage the franchise, while Halo veterans Marcus Lehto and Alex Seropian are also onboard – Lehto heading up a new studio in Seattle, while Seropian is working at Industrial Toys on Battlefield Mobile.
At DICE’s Stockholm headquarters there’s a new look team too, as series veteran Lars Gustavsson steps up to creative director while Rebecka Coutaz joins as general manager of EA DICE having previously served as studio director at Ubisoft Annecy. A handful of days after the launch of Battlefield 2042’s first season – which introduced new map Exposure, new specialist Lis and handful of new gadgets – Coutaz took some time to answer our questions about the team’s commitment to the title, and where it’s heading next.
