british studio Criteria Games have to deal with a large number of departures. After completing arcade racing Need for speed without limits five knowledgeable employees and veterans left the team.
They left Matt Webstervice president and general manager of Criterion, executive producer Pete Lakesenior technical director Andrey Shayresstudio development manager Alan McDermant and content chapter Steve Uphill.
Matt Webster has been with EA since 1990 and was part of the team responsible for the first installment of the FIFA series. He spent 23 years at the Criterion. Peter Lake joined Criterion in 1996, CTO Andrew Shires has been with the studio for 16 years and Alan McDairmant for 17 years.
All five veterans are gone with a desire to explore new possibilities outside of Electronic Arts. She became the new executive producer of Need for Speed. Charity Joywho previously worked on the EA Sports UFC series, taking on the role of Senior Head of NFS Development. Jeff Smith. He previously curated the DiRT and GRID series at Codemasters. Now he is the lead developer of Need for Speed.
A source: electronic artsBurnout after NFS Unbound? Criterion want to get back to racing
“Looking ahead, we know we have a great opportunity to develop our games and experiences and bring them to an even wider range of fans – our long-term strategy is focused on our strengths in both licensed motorsports and arcade/open air racing. the world.” added David Rutter, EA Racing Group CEO.
Today the Criterion team is different from what it was during the successful Burnout Paradise races. In 2013, it was decided to transfer 80% of employees (70 people) to ghost games, where they would work on Need for Speed, while the other 17 people were supposed to focus on other genres. This meant, among other things, collaborations on Star Wars Battlefront, Battlefield V and Battlefield 2042.
In 2020, the decision was made to bring NFS back to Criterion and make Ghost Games a tech support studio. Therefore, it was also renamed EA Gothenburg.
Source :Indian TV
