EA confirmed that they delayed the new Need for Speed because they want to focus on the next Battlefield. This battlefield game is expected to release this fall on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. And it looks like DICE needed some help for getting the game ready for the release date. But EA says that Criterion Games will return back to working on Need for Speed as soon as possible.
EA made the decision to make Criterion Games work with DICE because of pandemic and hard working conditions.
EA chief studios officer, Laura Miele said “There’s no way we would have made a decision like this without including [Criterion] and discussing this with them first, and the impact that they could have on [Battlefield]. They’ve worked on [Star Wars] Battlefront, they’ve worked on Battlefields, and they have a really tight, close collaborative partnership with DICE. I’m really confident that this is going to be a pretty positive win for them.”
So Miele confirmed that Criterion is working on the next Need for Speed at the moment. This isn’t a big surprise after how well they did on the remaster of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. She also confirms that Criterion is working on the next Battlefield and helping the DICE with the game.
“Making games is one of the most sophisticated and complicated forms of media that exists, and it requires creative energy and connection to team members,” Miele explained. “I think that there’s been, you know, fatigue and some burnout, working from home. A lot of that even has to do with just the needs that people have with their families. Some people are taking care of their kids at home. So our productivity is not as high, and then the creative connection and creative energy aren’t as high when they’re working from home.”
She also said that the Need for Speed series is not being taken away from Criterion. They will return working on Need for Speed next year. And they will try to launch the game on current and previous PlayStation and Xbox generations of hardware.
