Respawn had a helluva year in 2019 with their surprise launch of Apex Legends and their foray into single-player beauty with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Vince Zampella has been the head of a lot of big power moves from the studio as CEO and co-founder, but it looks like EA has even bigger plans in mind for the man. As such, one of his new undertakings will be taking over DICE LA and heading the rebranding efforts to make it a more “unique” voice in the industry.
According to a recent report by LA Times, the upcoming rebrand of DICE LA will also come with a launch of an unrevealed, original new IP as well as a revisiting of IPs from games’ past. The report also mentioned that this studio will remain separate from Respawn and that the name change is “likely” to drop with the total overhaul.
Details on what the new name will be are unknown at this time, but the rebranding will be more than just a simple name swap. Zampella told LA Times that its to give the studio “a new image. We want people to say, ‘This is a destination you can go and make new content.’”
He also likened himself to the role of “head coach” when overseeing the new efforts. The various aspects of Respawn will also see some changes as well with a variety of team leaders leading the charge into 2020 and beyond. As far as what we know about the leadership appointments:
- Stig Asmussen (Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order) will lead the narrative-driven branch
- Chad Grenier (Apex Legends) will continue on the battle royale front
- Peter Hirschmann will head Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond VR
You can read more about the road thus far for Respawn with the deep-dive here by the folks over at the LA Times. As for what’s next: if 2019 is any indicator, 2020 could be a really powerful time for Respawn and EA on a bigger scale.
