Additional reporting by Andy Robinson.
Fawzi Mesmar, DICE’s head of design who looked after the Battlefield and Star Wars: Battlefront franchises, has left the company following the release of Battlefield 2042, VGC can reveal.
His departure was announced in an email sent to staff this week, seen by VGC, in which he revealed he’d been planning to leave for some time once the studio’s latest shooter had been shipped.
The former King studio director had served as DICE’s head of design since 2019. His role saw him helm the design team of over 80 creative directors, game designers and more, on projects such as Battlefield 2042, Star Wars Battlefront II and Battlefield V.
“It was an absolute pleasure to serve on the best design teams in the galaxy,” he wrote in his email to staff. “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.”
The email continues: “I have been made an offer I couldn’t refuse at another company that has been kind enough to wait for me until we have shipped [Battlefield 2042]. It was super important to me to be here with the team as we achieve this historical milestone.
“While Oskar [Gabrielson, studio GM] and myself have been discussing my succession plans for some time – and it will be announced in due course – we opted to delay this communication till after launch to keep the focus – rightfully so – on the game we’ve been putting a monumental amount of effort on.”
Mesmar’s final day at DICE will be November 26. According to his email, his next position will also be based in Stockholm.
An Electronic Arts representative told VGC, “Fawzi Mesmar is leaving DICE at the end of the week. We wish him the best in his future endeavours.”
The head of design’s claims of a long-planned succession for his role would suggest that his departure will not affect DICE’s plans to improve Battlefield 2042 via post-launch updates.
Battlefield 2042 was released last week to a critical reception from fans. The game currently has the worst user score of the year on Steam, thanks to over 26,000 “mostly negative” reviews.
According to the reviews, the player base has grown frustrated with issues like the lack of a leaderboard, empty maps and problems with in-game vehicles.
On Tuesday DICE provided details on its plans for future improvements to the game, as well as details on 2042’s second major patch planned for release this week.
“We couldn’t be more passionate about this game and will be supporting and evolving it for years to come,” the studio said.
“We have confirmed at least two major game updates in the coming weeks, and we’ll be here communicating consistently about the changes we are making, as well as new content coming to Battlefield 2042.
“The teams across the globe are working 24/7 to evolve and deliver improvements to the game.”
