According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, Electronic Arts are starting the new year with a move that makes all the sense in the world. Vince Zampella, currently CEO of Respawn and one of the minds behind the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, will be taking charge at DICE LA. As head of Respawn (a position he is also retaining according to Kotaku’s Jason Schrier), Vince has overseen some of the only true blockbuster hits of the past generation for EA. Both Titanfall games were critical darlings and Apex Legends carved out a piece of an already saturated battle royale market. Vince looks to bring that expertise to another division of EA’s legion of developers.
It’s not a move that comes out of nowhere. Respawn’s next release will be Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, a VR title in a franchise that DICE LA stewarded in its past lives. For those unaware, DICE LA is a studio with a long history. Founded as Dreamworks Interactive, it lived as EA Los Angeles and Danger Close Games before folding into the DICE infrastructure. All throughout this generation, the studio has been a support studio, developing DLC and other content for Battlefield and Star Wars Battlefront. EA trying to bring them back to a place of prominence is an exciting prospect, especially at a time where EA could use another crack team working on new games.
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Talking to the LA Times, Vince states that he wants to give DICE LA a fresh start. “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.’” Vince continues that the new team will be separate from both DICE and Respawn, and they’ll be looking into creating something new and apart from what they’ve done in the past.
The full article also talks about the challenges of bringing Medal of Honor to virtual reality and how Vince touches everything that goes on in the two studios he now manages. “In talking to EA, they wanted the influence of me coming in to help shape the future of EA. The industry is changing, and we have the chance to be at the forefront of that. Being able to take on new challenges, like DICE L.A. falling under me now, is exciting.”
[Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]
