DICE LA, a division of EA-owned studio DICE, has announced that it will be officially rebranding as “Ripple Effect Studios”. The move signals a shift to greater independence for the studio, although it will continue to work closely with DICE on the upcoming Battlefield 2042.
DICE LA is Becoming “Ripple Effect Studios”
DICE LA was first founded back in 2013, with a senior team mostly comprising staff from Danger Close Games, which worked on Medal of Honor for EA until its closure. Since its foundation, DICE LA has provided support to DICE or support work on other EA projects, rather than developing games of its own. The studio has played a major role in the development of the Battlefield series, as well as Star Wars Battlefront.
Now, DICE LA will become known as Ripple Effect Studios; a rebrand which distances it from the DICE name and lends the studio a more distinct identity. This rebranding has been a long time coming. It was first hinted at back in January of 2020 when Respawn CEO Vince Zampella was named studio lead. At the time, Zampella clearly indicated that he wanted things to change for DICE LA. “We want to give it a new image,” he said; “We want people to say, ‘This is a destination you can go and make new content.’”
Since then, there has been little indication of any changes coming about. Most likely, COVID played a role in delaying the reorganisation to an extent. However, Ripple Effect Studios will now establish itself as a more independent studio, perhaps even moving onto developing its own games. For now, however, the studio will continue to support DICE with the development of the upcoming Battlefield 2042. According to Ripple Effect GM Christian Grass, the studio will start to move in a new direction following that game’s release.