Halo veteran Marcus Lehto’s last attempt to start afresh didn’t go down so well. But never one for giving up, Lehto today announced that he’s begun working with EA to build another new studio.
Breaking the news on Twitter earlier today, Lehto announced he’ll be working as game director at the new Seattle-based outfit, one that’ll primarily focus on first-person games.
Hey everyone, I’m very excited to announce that I’ve joined @EA as a Game Director, building a new studio in the Seattle area working on first-person games. I can’t wait to share more about what we’re creating! pic.twitter.com/GnfVFNLSaWOctober 19, 2021
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“We’re opening another new studio near Seattle that is part of the EA Studios organization, reporting into Vince Zampella’s organization,” an EA spokesperson said in a statement. “Marcus Lehto will be the studio’s game director, focused on developing first-person shooters. We’ll share additional details on its future at a later date.”
EA also clarified that Lehto’s studio is completely separate from the new outfit being headed by former Monolith vice president Kevin Stephens.
Lehto’s history as co-creator on Halo and art director on the first three games isn’t to be scoffed at, and helped him get then-new studio V1 Interactive off the ground back in 2014. The studio’s first and only game was Disintegration, an ambitious marriage of FPS and RTS that Morgan unfortunately felt didn’t work on either level in early previews.
That sentiment was unfortunately felt upon Disintegration’s release, with the game failing to make much of a splash. The game closed its multiplayer servers last September, with the studio ultimately shuttering this March.
Lehto isn’t ready to say what exactly he’s working on. Hopefully whatever this new EA studio ends up developing will have a longer shelf life than Disintegration.