“Disappointed”: Halo Co-Creator Says EA Erased His Team’s Work on Battlefield 6
Just as EA is celebrating the record-breaking launch of Battlefield 6, a major controversy has erupted that casts a dark shadow over its success. Marcus Lehto, a Bungie veteran and co-creator of the legendary Halo franchise, has publicly expressed his disappointment with EA, claiming the company failed to properly credit him and his former team at Ridgeline Games for their significant contributions to the game’s single-player campaign.
In a powerful post on LinkedIn, Lehto stated, “I’m disappointed to see that many of my former teammates from Ridgeline Games were not properly credited in the recent release of Battlefield 6.” This public call-out has once again ignited the fierce debate over developer recognition and the human cost of corporate restructuring in the gaming industry.
A Studio Built and Broken
To understand the depth of this issue, you have to look at the history of Ridgeline Games. EA established the studio in 2022, specifically hiring Marcus Lehto to build a team and spearhead the creation of a new narrative campaign for the Battlefield series, a direct response to criticism of Battlefield 2042‘s lack of a single-player mode. For one to two and a half years, this team worked tirelessly on the project.
Then, things fell apart. In February 2024, Lehto announced he was leaving EA of his own accord. Just one week later, EA shut down Ridgeline Games entirely as part of a massive wave of layoffs that affected some 670 employees. Lehto later stated he was “gut punched” by the news. Now, with the release of Battlefield 6, the final insult has been delivered.
Erased from the Credits
According to Lehto, despite building the very “foundation” of the game, the vast majority of the laid-off Ridgeline developers were either omitted entirely or relegated to a generic “Special Thanks” section at the very end of the credits. Lehto himself was not credited at all. “Game development is a team effort, and every contributor deserves fair acknowledgment,” he wrote, before taking matters into his own hands and posting a list of his former colleagues and their roles as he believed they should have appeared.
In a follow-up, Lehto clarified what he meant by “foundation.” Ridgeline was responsible for creating the “narrative foundation, fictional setting, believable factions, and iconic locations for the setting of campaign missions.” While he understood that the high-level story and gameplay they were developing were likely scrapped after the studio’s closure, their foundational world-building work clearly made it into the final product, uncredited.
A Familiar Story of Disrespect
This isn’t just about one game; it’s a symptom of a recurring problem in the AAA games industry. When developers are laid off or a project is shifted to a new team, their contributions are often minimized or completely erased. A credit in a game is more than just a name on a screen; it’s a crucial part of a developer’s professional portfolio, proof of their work and experience. To deny them that, especially after they’ve lost their jobs, is seen by many as the ultimate sign of disrespect.
Conclusion
While players are diving into Battlefield 6’s acclaimed multiplayer, this controversy is a stark reminder of the people behind the product. Marcus Lehto’s decision to speak out has shone a spotlight on an issue that often goes unnoticed by the public. It’s a fight for basic professional respect. As Lehto himself put it, crediting everyone who worked on a game “costs nothing.” For the developers who poured years of their lives into a project only to be laid off and then erased from its history, that credit means everything.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is Marcus Lehto?
Marcus Lehto is a veteran game developer, best known as the co-creator of the Halo franchise. He was hired by EA to lead Ridgeline Games and the development of the Battlefield 6 single-player campaign.
2. Why is Marcus Lehto upset with EA?
He is disappointed because he and many of his former team members at Ridgeline Games were not properly credited for their work on Battlefield 6 after the studio was shut down and they were laid off. Many were relegated to a “Special Thanks” section or omitted entirely.
3. What was Ridgeline Games?
Ridgeline Games was a studio owned by EA, founded in 2022 and led by Marcus Lehto. Its specific purpose was to develop the narrative single-player campaign for the Battlefield series.
4. What happened to the studio?
Shortly after Marcus Lehto left the company in February 2024, EA shut down Ridgeline Games as part of a large-scale corporate restructuring and mass layoffs.
5. What did Ridgeline Games contribute to Battlefield 6?
According to Lehto, the team built the “foundation” of the single-player campaign. This included the narrative foundation, the fictional setting, the factions, and the locations used for missions in the final game.
6. Has EA responded to the criticism?
As of the time of the controversy, EA had not issued a public comment in response to Marcus Lehto’s statements.