We can confirm Criterion Games and the development team at Codemasters Cheshire are officially coming together to create the future of @NeedforSpeed, forming one Criterion studio with two location hubs. [1/3]
— Codemasters (@Codemasters) May 12, 2022
Dirt team Codemasters Cheshire merged with Need for Speed studio Criterion
“To deliver the best racing experiences we can for our players”
Codemasters’ Cheshire team has been integrated into fellow UK-based Electronic Arts studio Criterion Games.
The Cheshire studio is the outfit behind Dirt 5, which was formed by the former Evolution Studios team that created PlayStation racing games Driveclub and Motorstorm.
“We can confirm Criterion Games and the development team at Codemasters Cheshire are officially coming together to create the future of Need for Speed,” Codemasters said on Thursday.
“This integration builds off the close partnership the two studios have developed over the past few months.
“Sharing common values and similar cultures, we strongly believe unifying the huge wealth of expertise across both teams will help us to deliver the best racing experiences we can for our players.”
No redundancies have been made as a result of the move, according to GamesIndustry.biz, which reports that Codemasters Birmingham continues to work on the Formula 1 franchise.
EA acquired Codemasters for $1.2 billion in early 2021.
The publisher announced in February 2020 that it had handed Need for Speed development duties back to Criterion Games as it planned to restructure Ghost Games, which made the last four entries in the racing series.
Guildford-based Criterion is best known for the Burnout series and has developed two previous Need for Speed titles: 2010’s Hot Pursuit and 2012’s Most Wanted.
It also contributed to 2013’s Need for Speed Rivals and more recently to several DICE games.
Related
Dirt 5’s developer is working on its ‘most ambitious and biggest’ game in a decade
Codemasters Cheshire has big plans
EA confirmed on Tuesday that next game in the Need for Speed series will be released in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The title’s release was delayed by a year after EA moved Criterion into a support role on Battlefield 2042.
It was recently claimed that the new Need for Speed will be released in November and that EA has dropped plans for PS4 and Xbox One versions of the title.
The game will reportedly be set in a fictionalised version of Chicago called Lake Shore City and feature a photorealistic art style mixed with anime elements.
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