Respawn CEO to work on "new original game" at EA DICE studio

Developer Respawn became EA’s biggest success story of 2019, releasing a formidable Fortnite rival in Apex Legends and the hugely successful Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.  

The coming year however will see some significant shifts behind-the-scenes at the studio, with CEO and co-founder Vince Zampella set to lead the LA-based offices of EA’s DICE studio.  

According to the Los Angeles Times, Zampella is moving to the studio to “expand and launch an original, as-yet-unrevealed game”.  

While the studio shares the DICE name, who created titles like Battlefield and Star Wars: Battlefront at their primary Stockholm office, the LA-based office is also set to undergo a rebrand under Zampella.

Apex Legends has been a huge success for EA and Respawn (Picture: Respawn) 

Speaking to the publication, Zampella said: “We will probably rebrand. We want to give it a new image. We want people to say, ‘This is a destination you can go and make new content.’  

“I think they’ve kind of gotten the branding that they are the support studio for DICE Stockholm. I think rebranding is important for showing people, ‘Hey! Come work here. We’re going to do some amazing things.’” 

Zampella states he’ll keep his position as “head coach” of Respawn despite the move, while Jedi: Fallen Order director Stig Asmussen will lead a narrative-driven branch at Respawn.  

Apex Legends development will be overseen by Chad Grenier, while virtual reality title Medal Of Honor: Above And Beyond will be led by Peter Hirschmann. 

Zampella also teases there “might be more” from Respawn in the pipeline too, with our hopes on a sequel to Titanfall 2.  

The move isn’t entirely surprising following Respawn’s success over the past year, with EA possibly hoping to spread the studio’s talents across multiple studios for an even greater hit rate. 

Respawn’s next title will be Medal Of Honor: Above And Beyond slated for release in 2020, where you’ll play an Allied agent of the OSS against the Nazi’s in World War 2 France.  

The biggest hook is the fact it’s a VR-title which will boast both a single-player campaign and multiplayer, although we’ll have to see if it can revive the Medal Of Honor franchise to its former glories after 2012’s Medal Of Honor: Warfighter.