Electronic Arts has officially paused development on the widely popular Need for Speed franchise and has redirected Criterion Games to focus on the upcoming Battlefield title, according to a report released on Monday. This decision follows the recent unveiling of pre-alpha gameplay footage for the next installment in the Battlefield series, along with the announcement of a new community testing initiative.
Criterion’s Shift to Battlefield Development
Vince Zampella, the head of Respawn Entertainment at EA and the new overseer of the Battlefield franchise, confirmed in an interview with Eurogamer that the Criterion team known for developing Need for Speed is now collaborating with the Battlefield group.
“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,” Zampella stated during the interview.
He further expressed the team’s commitment, saying, “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.”
In September 2023, EA had previously announced that Criterion would be incorporated into the EA Entertainment division, which is now under Zampella’s leadership. At that time, Zampella indicated that a substantial portion of Criterion’s workforce would contribute to the upcoming Battlefield title.
“As we’ve said before, we’re all-in on Battlefield. Today, Criterion is added to our world-class Battlefield studios dedicated to ushering in a new era for the franchise. The majority of the team will be working alongside DICE, Ripple Effect, and Ridgeline that are led by Byron Beede, GM of Battlefield,” Zampella noted.
Despite the shift in focus, Zampella mentioned that a core group at Criterion will still be tasked with developing future content for the Need for Speed series. Since that time, Need for Speed Unbound, which is the latest release in the franchise, has received several content updates.
Criterion has been a prominent contributor to the Need for Speed series since 2010 and has been involved in the development of Battlefield games since Battlefield 1 in 2016.
Insights on the Upcoming Battlefield Title
EA is actively developing the next entry in the Battlefield series, which will compete directly with Activision’s Call of Duty. Following the dissatisfaction expressed by players regarding 2021’s Battlefield 2042, the company has pledged to listen to feedback and return to the core elements that fans appreciate about the franchise.
The upcoming Battlefield game is set to revert to a contemporary setting and will reintroduce 64-player maps. These details were initially revealed by EA in September 2024, along with concept art for the title.
On Monday, EA showcased a brief clip of pre-alpha gameplay from the forthcoming Battlefield installment and introduced Battlefield Labs, a community testing program aimed at integrating player feedback into the final release.