Two Battlefield veterans and long-time DICE employees have announced their departure from the studio amid recently-announced leadership changes.
Multiplayer producer David Sirland and Art Director Jhony Ljungstedt separately announced their departures after 11 and 12 years of service, respectively. While Ljungstedt’s announcement came on his last day ahead of the weekend, Sirland penned a lengthy note on Reddit a couple of days ago, where he revealed that his last day will be March 3rd.
Electronic Arts has been largely mum about the leadership changes it has planned but did reveal that DICE LA will undergo rebranding under the leadership of Respawn Entertainment’s Vince Zampella. The next Battlefield is still planned for release between April 2021 and March 2022 but it doesn’t look like Zampella will be involved in its production.
MP1st spotted some interesting comments from Sirland on Reddit, where he indicated that he will share his thoughts on Battlefield‘s issues and challenges in due course. At least one of his comments imply that he didn’t have much control over Battlefield V‘s direction. The game has been repeatedly criticized for its lackluster launch and multiplayer-related issues.
“If things were completely up to me, they would surely be different,” Sirland said in response to a Redditor who chastised him for choosing to leave the studio before fixing the game’s balance. When another Redditor asked Sirland if he’d be willing to share his opinion about the handling of Battlefield V‘s issues, he said, “Eventually, yes. It’s always interesting to give some nuance to the blacks and whites of the internet.”
It’s safe to say that Sirland isn’t able to say much while he’s still a DICE employee. That said, he turned down requests to discuss the upcoming Battlefield now or in the future because he’s privy to the information.
