Swedish developers DICE has undergone a shake-up of studio personnel after the calamitous launch of 'Battlefield 2042' last November, and the new studio boss Rebecka Coutaz says smaller games like 'Mirror's Edge' have been sidelined.
In her first interview since taking over at the Stockholm developers, Coutaz said the studio was going to fully focus on the 'Battlefield' franchise, with the aim of making the studio a "first-person shooter powerhouse" within the next 3 years.
This means smaller, more risky games like 'Mirror's Edge' are off the table.
"We are only focusing on 'Battlefield 2042', Coutaz told gamesindusty.biz.
"There is no time for anything else and this is what we want to do. In three years, we want to be the first-person shooter powerhouse that DICE deserves to be, and that is what we're going for."
"I want the team to be really proud about 'Battlefield 2042.' That is what they are chasing and they have their heart and the passion there. We want to be really, really proud of DICE. We want DICE to be the number one spot for first-person shooter games in Europe, and one of the powerhouses in the world."
Coutaz stated that she is fully on board and has been tasked with transitonng the 'Battlefield' series to a live model service in the vein of 'Call Of Duty' or 'Fortnite'.
Coutaz has joined DICE from Ubisoft Annecy, the developers behind popular titles such as 'Steep' and 'Riders Republic', and has been tasked with bringing 'Battlefield 2042' back from the dead.
The game recently received its first major post-launch update, which she says is receiving a good reaction among fans of the game.
“The players are enjoying our map and the content that we have provided, so it’s a win for us and it makes us feel better.
“The team is here to make Battlefield, and they’re passionate about Battlefield. We have many Battlefield veterans, sit’s important for us to improve 'Battlefield 2042' and the experience that we can provide to our players. We owe them that.”
'Battlefield 2042' launched in a poor state last year, with our review noting the game had a distinct unfinished feeling to it.
Over 230,000 fans signed a petition asking for a refund, stating that the game was released in an unfinished state, and were not satisfied with EA for releasing the game to market in the present state.
Games have been able to recover from a poor launch period to turn themselves around, most notably 'Destiny 2' and 'Rainbow Six: Siege' but only time will tell if 'Battlefield 2042' joins the same company.
