Need for Speed studio Criterion Games joins EA Entertainment to work on Battlefield

Criterion Games, best known for its work on the Burnout and Need for Speed franchises, has announced that it will transition from EA Sports to EA Entertainment to continue working on the Battlefield series.

The details:

• In a new blog post, EA executive and Respawn Head Vince Zampella announced the move, stating that as the publisher is going "all-in on Battlefield," Criterion has now been added to its roster of studios working on the franchise, which also includes DICE, Ripple Effect, and Ridgeline.
• Criterion has previously worked on the Battlefield franchise, beginning with Battlefield V's Firestorm battle royale mode and progressing to providing development assistance to DICE for Battlefield 2042, resulting in a postponement of Need for Speed Unbound. Criterion’s experience with Battlefield, our technology, and building engaging experiences will have an immediate positive impact as we continue to work on Battlefield 2042, and as we continue pre-production on a connected Battlefield Universe,” Zampella wrote in the blog post.
• Despite the shift, Zampella confirmed that Need for Speed is not going away after it was returned to the studio in 2020 when EA moved Ghost Games back to a support studio. “Work will also continue on what’s next for Need for Speed,” Zampella explained. “Many of you might be familiar with my history in games, having worked with extremely talented teams on Apex Legends, Titanfall, and Star Wars Jedi here at Electronic Arts.” The Respawn CEO also stated that he looks forward to working with a "core group" of developers on future Need for Speed projects, implying that the team has been significantly reduced in size.

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