Ghost Games is done but not dead
Need for Speedhas floundered for the better part of a decade, and Electronic Arts evidently expects more horsepower from its most recognizable racing series. After an underwhelming stretch,Need for Speedhas been taken from Ghost Games and reassigned back to Criterion Games.
EA confirmed the shift toGamesIndustry.biz, saying “With a strong history and passion for racing games and vision for what we can create, the Criterion team is going to takeNeed for Speedinto the next-generation.” Criterion is UK-based and is most well-known as the developer of theBurnoutgames that were beloved in the early 2000s. Criterion also led development onNeed for Speed: Hot PursuitandNeed for Speed: Most Wanted, which were both received very positively.
As for Ghost Games, EA has new plans for the Swedish studio. It’ll be renamed EA Gothenburg, and the team will be assigned to engineering support on the Frostbite engine. EA says it’s trying to transfer people in creative roles over to other studios. There are 30 employees whose jobs are up in the air right now.
The nextNeed for Speedtitle will mark the first time Criterion developed a new game as the primary studio since 2012’sMost Wanted. It has spent the past few years providing support for EA DICE on theStar Wars BattlefrontandBattlefieldfranchises. Maybe this is the tune-upNeed for Speedneeds, because the past decade saw better racing series likeForza Horizonblowing right past it.
EA will move Need for Speed development back to Criterion[GamesIndustry.biz]
