Criterion And Codemasters Merge Studios To Work On New Need For Speed Game

thegamer.com:

Codemasters announced this morning that its Chesire studio would be merging with the Criterion development team to "create the future of Need For Speed." These two racing game powerhouses will remain in their current, separate locations, but will merge to become "one Criterion studio with two location hubs." The Burnout and F1 developers pooling knowledge and talent sounds like a great thing for the future of Need For Speed.

Fortunately, GamesIndistry.biz has reported that this merge hasn't resulted in any redundancies, meaning these two iconic teams will be working together at full power for the foreseeable future.

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EA bought Codemasters last year for $1.2 billion, and the CEO and CFO of Codemasters left the studio just a few months later. At the time of the acquisition, EA stated that the purchase would allow it to launch "new racing experiences annually."

We haven't had a mainline Need For Speed game for almost three years now. Heat launched in 2019 and returned the series to what it became known for during the popular Underground era: running from police and pimping out slick rides. It scored markedly higher in critical reviews than its predecessor, Need For Speed Paypack. The series has been taken from developer Ghost Games and given to Criterion.

Criterion was reportedly already working on an upcoming Need For Speed title, potentially set to launch this November, though no official word on it has been received yet. If the rumours are true, this new game will leave the last gen consoles in the rearview mirror and parallel park on the Xbox Series and PS5. It's also said to feature "photo-realistic" visuals and "anime elements," whatever that