There are currently no developers at Criterion working on my favorite racing game series, Need For Speed. Instead, the studio is one of four under EA lending support to Battlefield.
In a statement given to Eurogamer, EA's Battlefield boss Vince Zampella says: "The Need for Speed team at Criterion are joining their colleagues working on Battlefield. As a company, it was important to us to take the last year to listen to our Need for Speed community and use their feedback to create content for Unbound."
Although I loved the Need For Speed series as a kid, I fell off for a while until Heat and Unbound came out and returned the car-tuning games to their former glory. Unbound has been the perfect mix of new and old, showing a great appreciation for the game's hip-hop aesthetics and offering a tense and challenging story mode. It's been supported by Criterion since release, with new updates being added consistently.
"With an increased understanding of what our players want in a Need for Speed experience, we plan to bring the franchise back in new and interesting ways," says Zampella. I'd be happy with more of the same, or a direct sequel to Heat that had a more focused and fleshed out story.
But for now, Criterion is joining DICE, Ripple Effect, and Motive to work on the next Battlefield game. I like Battlefield as much as the next person (I spent an absurd number of hours on the 24/7 Metro server on Battlefield 3), but it's sad to see so many great studios all working on one cash cow instead of making cool new games.
While we wait for more Battlefield and cry over the lack of Need For Speed, check out all the upcoming video game release dates so you know what to look forward to this year.
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