Battlefield 2042 Design Lead Departs DICE Following Release

The design lead at DICE behind Battlefield 2042, Fawzi Mesmar, has reportedly left the company following the release of the latest installment in the long-running multiplayer shooter franchise. While it would be easy to think that Mesmar's leaving would come about as a result to the mixed response that Battlefield 2042 has received from both fans and critics, the former lead developer instead has told current DICE employees that this move was planned for some time. 

According to new information from VGC, Mesmar sent out an email to developers at DICE this week that revealed he would be leaving the studio. "It was an absolute pleasure to serve on the best design teams in the galaxy. The incredible design work that you do continues to inspire me every day. Thank you for putting some faith in me, I hope I didn't disappoint," Mesmar told the team at DICE in his email. In an accompanying statement, EA confirmed that this week would be the final one for Mesmar at the company. 

Mesmar began his current role at DICE back in 2019 where he helped oversee work on Star Wars Battlefront II, Battlefield V, and now Battlefield 2042. Speaking more to why he was leaving in the first place, Mesmar told staff that he received an offer at another company that was willing to wait for him to help ship Battlefield 2042 before transitioning. "It was super important to me to be here with the team as we achieve this historical milestone," Mesmar went on to tell staff in his email. 

As for how this move will impact DICE in the future, Mesmar also made clear that he has had a succession plan in place for a bit. While it's not currently known who will succeed him internally, Mesmar said that the announcement will be made soon enough. 

As mentioned, the optics of Mesmar leaving DICE at this point are a bit bizarre, especially given the blowback that Battlefield 2042 has received since launching. Then again, moves of this type are fairly common in the video game industry as many developers often move on to other companies after releasing a certain game. In addition, this absence from Mesmar shouldn't impact DICE's future work that it has promised to do on Battlefield 2042. 

What do you think about this shakeup at DICE? Do you think it will positively or negatively impact the future of the studio? Let me know either down in the comments or message me on Twitter at @MooreMan12.