Electronic Arts (EA) Taps Ridgeline Games Studio for Battlefield
Electronic Arts EA recently announced the formation of a brand new studio known as Ridgeline Games, which will be focused on creating a new narrative campaign set in the Battlefield universe — a component that has been lacking in recent entries.
The studio is being headlined by Macus Lehto, the co-creator of the Halo franchise, and includes a number of video game industry veterans.
The Battlefield franchise has been one of the most popular first-person shooter games since Battlefield 1942 was first launched in 2002. While Ridgeline Games focuses on the narrative aspect, EA has fully entrusted technological development on the multiplayer end to longtime partner, DICE, working together since 2006.
In December, just weeks after Battlefield 2042’s launch, EA had revealed its intention to create a connected Battlefield universe alongside widespread changes to the franchise’s development structure as a result of the negative reception caused by the lack of a single-player campaign in favor of a more robust multiplayer mode.
As part of these plans, DICE’s former general manager Oscar Gabrielson left EA altogether, while Respawn and Infinity Ward co-founder Vince Zampella took on a new role as the overseer of the entire Battlefield franchise.
Electronic Arts Inc. Price and Consensus
Electronic Arts Inc. price-consensus-chart | Electronic Arts Inc. Quote
Bright Prospects Intensifies Competition
Electronic Arts anticipates benefiting from its game release lineup for the rest of 2022 and 2023. Per a Mordor Intelligence report, the global gaming market is expected to witness a CAGR of 8.94%, reaching $339.95 billion in 2027.
EA SPORTS NHL 23 is slated for worldwide launch on Oct 14. Cross-platform matchmaking will come to the game in November 2022, which will enable matchmaking between players of the same platform generation in World of Chel and Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT).
This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company also announced that its golf game, EA SPORTS PGA TOUR, is all set to release in Spring 2023. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Moreover, EA SPORTS PGA TOUR will be the only place where golf fans can play all four major championships, including the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open Championship and The Open Championship.
The company has also announced a series of new multi-year partnerships and in-game integrations coming on EA SPORTS FIFA 23 and heading into EA SPORTS FC, where fans can play with over 19,000 players, 700 teams, 100 stadiums and 30 leagues across the global sport.
However, solid prospects in the gaming industry also result in intensifying competition for EA from the likes of Take-Two Interactive TTWO and Activision Blizzard ATVI.
Take-Two is expanding the Borderlands universe with the newly announced launch of New Tales from the Borderlands, a new standalone, choice-based interactive narrative adventure on Oct 21. On Sep 9, 2K and Visual Concepts will launch NBA 2K23, the next offering from its industry-leading NBA series.
Further, 2K and Disney’s DIS Marvel Entertainment have announced the release of Marvel’s Midnight Sun. Marvel’s Midnight Sun is set on the darker side of Disney’s Marvel Universe. The title will launch later this fiscal year on Windows PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS 5.
Activision will release Wrath of the Lich King Classic, the authentic re-creation of World of Warcraft’s acclaimed second expansion on Sep 26, at no additional cost to all players with an active subscription. Overwatch 2 will be launched for early access with dynamic new PvP content on Oct 4. Also, Diablo IV, the next generation instalment in the genre-defining series, is debuting in 2023.
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