The laborious development of Need for Speed Unboundwhich is long overdue for several years, would have exhausted the developers at Criterion Games ? That’s what we might think after David Rutter, head of racing games at Electronic Artsannounced the departure of three key members of the studio known for the Burnout.
Matt Websterveteran of Electronic Arts who joined Criterion when it was acquired in 2004 and was its general manager since 2013 and vice-president since 2017, has indeed left the company. And he’s not the only one, because executive producer Pete Lakein the corridors since 1996, and technical director Andrei Shires, in place since 2006, have also packed their bags to “explore new opportunities outside of EA”. This is also the case for two other figures working more broadly for the motorsport division of EA : Alan McDairmant, lately Head of Studio Development and at the publisher since 2005, and Steve Uphill, Head of Content and employee of the editor for more than 10 years.
The real reasons for this brain drain are not known, but it does not mean that Criterion Games or even the license Need for Speed are in danger. The racing game series will indeed be bolstered by the arrivals of Charity Joy as an executive producer at Criterionshe who previously worked on the franchise EA Sports UFCand of Geoff Smith as Senior Product Director on the saga Need for Speedwhich will still wait to finish its work on the next one WRC coming in the spring. Note that Steve Cuss, current director of Criterionis still faithful to his post.
“It’s now been a year since the talented teams at Codemasters and Criterion officially came together as one unified force, driving the future of racing entertainment,” Rutter wrote to the staff. “This is an incredibly exciting time for our group following the recent launch of Need for Speed Unbound (which is hailed as having ushered in a new era for the franchise), the successful release of EA SPORTS F1 22 earlier this year, as well that significant progress in the development of WRC. »
“Looking to the future, we know there is a strong opportunity to evolve our games and experiences, and bring them to an even wider audience of fans – with our long-term strategy focusing on our strengths in licensed motorsports as well as arcade/open world racing. »
He concluded: “Building on the progress made so far this year, with two launches, and even more plans underway for the next one, we are confident that we have the best people, that we are working on the best games and that we will achieve great things in 2023.”
In any case, this means thatElectronic Arts aims to continue the series Need for Speed after Need for Speed Unboundavailable from €54.99 on Amazon.co.uk.
Read also: Need for Speed Unbound: Speed Racing and Rally gameplay featuring A$AP Rocky’s Mercedes 190 E
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