Respawn Boss Takes Over EA's DICE LA Studio

Vince Zampella, co-founder of Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order developer Respawn Entertainment, will head up EA DICE’s LA-based studio, the Los Angeles Times reports. Under Zampella’s leadership, EA plans to expand the outfit and have it release an “original” game.

Up until now, the LA-based DICE studio has primarily been responsible for providing support for DICE Stockholm, developer of the Battlefield franchise. According to the LA Times profile, the office will remain separate from both Respawn and DICE Stockholm under Zampella’s leadership, but will “probably” be rebranded to establish its own identity.

“We will probably rebrand,” Zampella says. “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.'”

While he leads the LA DICE office, Zampella says he will remain on as head of Respawn. Meanwhile, Jedi Fallen Order director Stig Asmussen will lead Respawn’s narrative-driven branch, Chad Grenier will oversee Apex Legends, and Peter Hirschmann will helm the previously announced VR Medal of Honor game for Oculus Rift called Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. Zampella teases “there might be more” projects underway at the studio as well.

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is slated to release in 2020. The game is set in World War II and has players assume the role of an OSS agent who’s charged with subverting and fighting back against Nazis. In addition to a multiplayer mode, the game will feature a single-player campaign that is estimated to last 10-12 hours, along with mini documentaries produced in cooperation with World War II veterans.

Prior to co-founding Respawn, Zampella co-founded Infinity Ward, the studio best known for the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series.