Battlefield 2042’s head of design is exiting DICE, it’s reported

DICE’s Fawzi Mesmar is leaving the studio after acting as head of design since 2019, according to reports. Mesmar’s exit comes shortly after the launch of Battlefield 2042, which has received mixed to negative reception from fans due to the litany of issues plaguing the shooter.

According to VGC, Mesmar sent an email to staff sometime this week announcing his departure. Mesmar mentions that he’s accepted an offer at “another company” that’s allowed him to ship Battlefield 2042 before coming aboard. The email also reads in part, “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.”

The correspondence implies that Mesmar has been planning to leave the company for some time and has been discussing this move with senior staff, meaning his departure has nothing to do with the launch and poor reception of Battlefield 2042. VGC notes that Mesmar will officially exit the company on November 26, and his upcoming role will still be based in Stockholm, Sweden.

Journalist Tom Henderson also mentioned on Twitter today that DICE is in the midst of a massive hiring round, and that we should “expect departures etc.” to begin popping up this week. Henderson clarifies, “They are hiring a lot of new people under DICE and not making another DICE studio.”