The Need for Speed series has had a rocky road lately, and that's no secret. Need for Speed Heat was an improvement, but it wasn't quite the comeback the franchise sorely needed. Not since the days of Criterion's take on Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted has the franchise been truly great. Developer Ghost Games, which has been making NFS games for the whole PlayStation 4 generation, has tried to reinvent the game several times, and never really succeeded. All that said, it's very interesting to learn that EA is handing its storied racing IP back to Criterion.
As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the UK racing game specialist famed for the Burnout series will regain control of Need for Speed, while Gothenburg-based Ghost Games will become a support and engineering team. "The engineering expertise in our Gothenburg team, some of whom are architects of the Frostbite engine, is vital to a number of our ongoing projects, and they would remain in that location," EA says.
The publisher is looking to move some of the creative staff at the studio to other teams, but it seems there could be up to 30 people at risk of redundancy. However, EA plans to find room for them elsewhere: "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."
Criterion has been supporting the development of other EA games such as Star Wars Battlefront and Battlefield V. The studio has been quietly ticking along for the entire generation, but it seems like it now has an opportunity to make something wholly its own again. "With a strong history and passion for racing games and vision for what we can create, the Criterion team is going to take Need for Speed into the next-generation," EA says. A Criterion-made Need for Speed on PS5? Colour us interested.
Of course, we hope anyone from Ghost Games who does find themselves out of work lands on their feet. What do you make of this news? Drift into the comments below.
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 26
While I'd love to see Criterion come back in a big way let's not kid ourselves. The people responsible for its heyday of great games have long since moved on.
Wow EA making a "Smart" decision for once?
@ZeroAbbadon basically what I came here to say, plus EA who will want it open world and always online so the magic of the likes of Burnout 3 will never truly return
These games are all the same. It's not that they are getting worse per se, it's just they haven't really changed in 20 years or whatever. You drive a car, fast, around open roads narrowly missing traffic and being chased by cops. That's it. I can't see them getting MORE popular as time goes on. It's like FIFA basically. Fun but don't expect anything different to the previous year other than a coat of paint.
Back on track??? More like back on trash. Criterion games was the reason I moved on the NFS franchise back in the HP/MW2012 days and heat brought me back. Don't get me wrong, Criterion is a good studio but their NFSs are just unispired Burnout rip offs (bs wreckfests with no customization), if they're back making games put them on a new Burnout, but leave NFS to Ghost.
Their Most Wanted never interested me due to features missing form the original, but loved Hot Pursuit. No other racing game has that cop-racer dynamic of players taking on both roles at once and if they brought it back I would be ecstatic. So hears to a new Hot Pursuit or Rivals.
Hot Pursuit 2010 was the best series has been the last 2 generations. Payback was great and the best recent game in the series but I doubt they'll ever be able to recreate the magic of Underground, Hot Pursuit 2,and 05 Most Wanted. Hope this move has a positive effect on the series though.
This franchise has went up and down so many times it's hilarious
I prefer Heat to their NFS games. I liked Burnout, but somehow less once they persued the open world approach.
This is great news!Hot Pursuit was an absolute blast compared to any Need For Speeds made since.Can't wait for the new one!...meanwhile I'll be sticking to Asphalt 9 Legends on my Switch.
So no more Burnout what a waste now we get the more of the same NFS games with a open world with the horrible storymode.
why the heck was the criterion team removed from need for speed in the first place? never should have happened. now that the original team is all but disbanded at this point, this doesn't make a lick of difference.
So NFS will finally be good again.
@ZeroAbbadon all of their titles have been quality though, MW and HP are the best NFS' since the PS2 era, easily.
I just want a new Ridge Racer.
@viciousarcanum yes, but those were made 8-10 years ago and a lot of the talent that worked on them has since moved on from Criterion, especially after they were downsized into a support studio.
Very well, I like that Criterion games return in the development of NFS, however, it's not the same Criterion team and recently, all NFS is only Carrer mode, Story mode and Online, I miss the days when NFS included many game modes for single player and also, when NFS was only super cars and rare cars, unique tracks around the world and any kind, rude and variety civil traffic cars in the tracks and really hot pursuits!!, ah, and a great and ""original"" soundtrack that really rocks for the races.
Well, we will see how will be the next NFS with the "new" returned Criterion games
@ZeroAbbadon that doesn't matter as long as the studio direction and work ideals remain, look at Naughty Dog for example plus Criterion's work on Battlefront was also high quality.
Neat, but I won't pretend to be fashionably allergic to Ghost's entries either. The franchise binge (where I'm currently on Carbon) is the main reason I haven't bought and/or properly started their PS4 fare, but what I've experienced of Rivals (albeit a collab with Criterion) is fun AND Vita-friendly. Hopefully so are the other three games, especially Payback whose RPG-like grind (a common alternative to microtransactions, although it makes its way into other games like FEW and Xenoblade 2 as well) has had me salivating for a long time. That said, Criterion's Most Wanted was a blast to play as well, so I'll be looking forward to their resumed input.
@viciousarcanum Naughty Dog has had a relatively consistent management and creative team over the years and they hire quality staff. Most of Criterion's management and creative individuals have either been let go or left in the intervening years. I'm not saying they don't still produce quality work but working on small aspects within other games is so very very different to working on their own full blown standalone product and I thinks it would be best to err on the side of caution and not get hopes up that this will rekindle memories of their prior works.
I hate open world racers. The last Criterion racing game I enjoyed was Burnout Revenge. Would love a ps5 remaster of that game.
Till then I'll just enjoy Mario Kart.
I loved the point to point NFS on the ps3 with the cops etc. Come to think about it I think that was actually Hot pursuit.
Criterion is a name only without Fiona and Alex. Without them, they're just another developer. Give NFS to 3Fields or allow them to do Burnout
Aa much as i liked the old most wanted and hot pursuit games, pro street was always my favorite for some reason. I dont think anyone else liked that game.
Think the NFS was best with Black Box back in its heyday of Underground and Most Wanted and I personally liked Carbon.
I got heat for Christmas because I got it at such a great discount I haven't played it yet, but any game coming from Criterion will just be a Burnout type clone ish ideas NFS
I've always wanted Burnout Revenge Remaster but they will never happen
Do you know who could get NFS back on track? The guys who made Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition. But in all seriousness, I didn't think Payback and Heat were steps in the wrong direction...
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