Racing game developer Codemasters announced that it will join Criterion Games to work on future Need for Speed titles. Both of these studios have created numerous beloved racing games. Codemasters Cheshire most recently worked on the arcade racer Onrush, with developers that previously worked on games, like Motorstorm and Driveclub. Criterion has worked on the Burnout series and Need for Speed games.
The official announcement says, “We can confirm Criterion Games and the development team at Codemasters Cheshire are officially coming together to create the future of Need for Speed, forming one Criterion studio with two location hubs. This integration builds of the close partnership the two studios have developed over the past few months.” The announcement finishes by stating the two teams share common values, and that they “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.”
What have these studios been up to?
This move from Electronic Arts might benefit the production of future Need for Speed games. However, it’s hard to say what other impact it could have on these teams going forward.
Codemasters is a large studio that was acquired by EA in a $1.2 billion deal last year. It works on games such as the Formula 1, Dirt, and Grid franchises, and Codemasters Birmingham will continue its work on the F1 games. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if EA later decides to make Codemasters move to different projects outside of Need for Speed. EA previously made Criterion shift from its work on the Need for Speed series to assisting with the development of Battlefield 2042.
The next Need for Speed game is rumored to be in development at Criterion and releasing later this year according to games journalist Jeff Grubb.
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
