With the release of Need for Speed: Most Wanted, acclaimed Burnout developer Criterion Games has revealed that EA will allow the studio to take control of the entire Need for Speed franchise.
Criterion vice president Alex Ward stated to GameInformer that the UK-based racing developer is more than ready to take over the reigns of the iconic 100 million-copy-selling Need for Speed series.
Going forward now, with Most Wanted and what we’ll do in the future [will have], shall we say, a strong Criterion involvement. I’m personally involved in how the cars drive, how the game will play out, how connected they are, and what the features are.
Upon being asked whether EA releasing an installment of the IP annually, Ward stressed that Criterion returning to the development helm of the series (they created 2010’s Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit) would see the franchise returning to its former glory.
Maybe it’s been that way in the past, but that’s changed this year with what we’re doing… Our stamp’s going to be in everything you see in Need for Speed and Burnout going forward in the future. It’s not going to be spread anymore across different companies. Different studios have had a crack at it – it’s definitely a Criterion gig now.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted is currently scheduled for a release on October 30th in North America and November 2nd in Europe.
