Electronic Arts has hired Halo co-creator and former Bungie veteran Marcus Lehto to build a new studio in Seattle, which will focus on first-person games.
This news was announced by Lehto on Twitter and LinkedIn, where he revealed that he’ll be joining EA in the capacity of Game Director. EA hasn’t announced anything yet and Lehto didn’t reveal any further details, but he said that he’s excited to talk about the project in due course.
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/GnfVFNLSaW
— Marcus Lehto (@game_fabricator) October 19, 2021
Things are happeningggg https://t.co/ey3qtgoK4E
— Electronic Arts (@EA) October 19, 2021
Lehto joined Bungie in 1996 as a freelance graphic designer, and worked his way up. He began co-creating Halo in 1997 and continued to work on the franchise until 2007. He rejoined Bungie three years later, and resigned in 2012 after another five years with the company.
Prior to joining EA, Lehto spent nearly nine years at the now-defunct V1 Interactive, which he founded in 2012. V1 was the studio behind 2020 first-person shooter Disintegration, which happened to be the first and only game V1 ever released.
“We are sad to inform you that V1 Interactive is officially closing,” the studio announced in March this year. “We want to thank all the talented people at V1, both past and present, who helped make the last five years wonderful. And a heartfelt thanks to the amazing community that supported us.”
We’ll update our readers when Lehto and EA unveil their new project.
