Need For Speed Returning to UK Based Criterion

UK Games Studio Criterion lately has been big in helping DICE on games like Battlefront II and Battlefield V. Before their recent work on first-person shooters, they were in charge of the popular Need for Speed franchise. EA is going to be going back to the UK Studio for future Need for Speed games, per a statement about the current development studio, Ghost Games.

Ghost Games, current team in charge of NFS, is becoming EA Gothenburg, named for its home base. EA says the studio “is vital to a number of our ongoing projects, and they would remain in that location.” Unfortunately, they’ll remain as a fraction of their current staff, with some 30 positions at risk. The publisher says “outside of the engineers and those that we plan to transfer to other positions, there would be 30 additional staff in Gothenburg, and we would hope to place as many of them as possible into other roles in the company.”

Essentially, EA Gothenburg will be an engineering hub to help develop the framework of EA games. The move is likely to help utilize the larger Criterion Studios and its resources more effectively. Still, the past few NFS games came from Ghost: Need for Speed: Rivals, the 2015 restart of the franchise, Need for Speed: Payback and 2019’s Need for Speed: Heat.

Criterion is a highly coveted place to work. In fact, GamesIndustry.biz named the studio in its “Best Places To Work Awards” for three consecutive years. The racing series is a fan-favorite, but is vastly behind other series like Forza or Dirt in terms of gameplay and features. I think most people want a great Need for Speed game on new consoles, and it seems like Criterion is up to the task. When we find out more, you know to keep reading PhenixxGaming for the latest!