Battlefield had a messy predecessor, Codename Eagle, that predates even DICE’s involvement in the series

Check the credits for Battlefield 6 and you'll find a laundry list of long-suffering studios.

Criterion, which used to be a household name in the British racing genre before its inexplicable relegation to support studio status. Motive, which was merged with BioWare Montreal after the disastrous Mass Effect Andromeda—a cultural clash that, according to Bloomberg, ultimately led to the cancellation of an original series after six years of development. And Ridgeline Games, an outfit set up by Halo's Marcus Lehto with a mandate to get Battlefield's singleplayer into shape, yet closed down before it could do so. As evidenced by the state of this year's campaign .

Then there's Ripple Effect—the artist formerly known as DICE LA, and before that Danger Close, aka EA Los Angeles, which once upon