It looks like the new Need for Speed game from Criterion Games is coming to a pitstop. EA did announce in early 2020 that the Need for Speed series would be developed again under Criterion after many mediocre entries from Ghost Games.
As per a new Polygon interview, Criterion is helping DICE with the upcoming Battlefield, and the Need for Speed is on hold. Laura Miele, EA’s chief studio officer, insists Criterion was included in the decision…
“There’s no way we would have made a decision like this without including [Criterion] and discussing this with them first, and the impact that they could have on [Battlefield]. They’ve worked on [Star Wars] Battlefront, they’ve worked on Battlefields, and they have a really tight, close collaborative partnership with DICE. I’m really confident that this is going to be a pretty positive win for them.”
Miele also stated that the Need for Speed had not been still cancelled or taken away from Criterion; we’ll see if that comes true. Due to the COVID-19, the development process of Battlefield has gone slow down. The recent purchase of Codemasters from EA indicates that the company will have a steady flow of something new racing content coming.
It seems, right now, there are a lot of things going behind the scenes at EA. Along with Criterion taking care of Battlefield, EA recently has cancelled Anthem NEXT and the long-in-development “Gaia” project of Motive. Expect more consolidation if the finances of the company remain flat. Battlefield 6 is said to arrive at the next fiscal year of EA, which ends March 31, 2022.
