In case you wanted any extra affirmation that Criterion is now all in on Battlefield, the Burnout creator and long-time Need For Speed custodian is now formally branded as “A Battlefield Studio”–leaving the way forward for the Need For Speed franchise in query.
As noticed by The Gamer, a consumer from the Need For Speed subreddit noticed Criterion’s new official subtitle on EA’s web site, the place “A Battlefield Studio” now seems underneath the standard studio emblem. Members of the subreddit are understandably not too optimistic about what the change means for the Need For Speed franchise, which continues to be ostensibly underneath Criterion’s purview.
The rebranding is absolutely simply confirming what we already knew–in February this 12 months, EA introduced that Criterion was being moved underneath the Battlefield Studios banner as a way to help the single-player expertise for Battlefield 6. On the identical time, it was introduced that growth on the subsequent Need For Speed title was being paused–though EA has promised that the franchise is just not lifeless.
Criterion has labored on Need for Speed titles since 2010’s Scorching Pursuit, and has been the principle developer on the sequence since 2020, when management was shifted again from Ghost Video games. The studio launched Need for Speed Unbound in 2022, however in subsequent years a majority of the employees had been assigned to help the Battlefield sequence following restructuring inside EA.
Whereas EA has mentioned that it plans to carry the Need for Speed franchise again sooner or later, it is unclear whether or not future video games will nonetheless be developed by Criterion, now that it has been designated underneath Battlefield Studios. It is no shock that Battlefield 6 is the main target of EA’s consideration at current, with the much-hyped shooter as a consequence of launch on October 10, 2025.