"Never say never": Criterion aren't ruling out a return to Need For Speed, but Battlefield is their only focus for now

Last week, to people its 30th anniversary, EA rebranded Criterion arsenic Criterion: A Battlefield Studio. The storied workplace that created Burnout and successful caller years has shepherded the Need For Speed series, arsenic good arsenic moving connected the rebooted Star Wars: Battlefront, volition go conscionable 1 of the 4 studios supporting EA's caller Battlefield push.

This isn't the archetypal clip Criterion person contributed to Battlefield, the Guildford workplace person been progressive since 2015's Battlefield 1, but the rebranding marks an extremity to moving connected different projects.

Or is it?

For the adjacent mates of days, I'm astatine the Develop Conference successful Brighton, which means I'm being that prick astatine the extremity of a speech who pipes up with a question that tin beryllium rapidly turned astir into a quality story. Today's question: Over the past 30 years, Criterion person demonstrated what they tin execute with originative freedom, won't narrowing to becoming a Battlefield-only workplace stifle their creativity?

"Obviously, we're not going to beryllium going disconnected with a crippled astir dinosaurs," Criterion elder shaper Danny Isaac says, adding "That has travel up aggregate times." Though, helium argues that determination is state wrong Battlefield. "The mode I spot it is that the Battlefield franchise, present platform, is truthful immense there's a batch of opportunity. We've got areas specified arsenic Portal, user-generated content, multiplayer, [and] singleplayer campaign. There's a batch of opportunity. We're ever looking for caller ways to bring Battlefield players successful – arsenic we're seeing with RedSEC and conflict royale.

"So, connected the 1 hand, it could beryllium seen arsenic constrained. But, [as idiosyncratic told me], springiness maine the state of a tightly constrained brief. Sometimes that constraint tin thrust creativity."

"When we speech astir demystifying however each these studios enactment together, I deliberation consistency isn't conformity," Criterion Director of Operations Amy Pejic added. "EA picked 4 truly unsocial studios for their skills. There's a crushed we're a portion of that team, right? It hasn't muted what makes Criterion 'Criterion'. There's inactive country to defy those expectations [and] to deliberation astir things a small spot differently. We don't person again process for process' involvement that pushes down and [means] each workplace has to beryllium the same. Every workplace is inactive going to amusement up arsenic themselves successful this larger portfolio."

'But what does it mean for non-Battlefield projects? Have we seen the past Criterion Need For Speed, the past Burnout?," I propulsion successful earlier the mic tin beryllium seized from me.

"I deliberation Burnout, we enactment that 1 down a portion ago," Isaac says. "Need For Speed? Yes, for now, we're focused connected Battlefield Studios. But you've seen the travel that we've been on, I'd ne'er accidental never. Things change. EA changed. They've antithetic viewpoints, but we're connected Battlefield."

"My workfellow said this best," Pejic says. "We tin bash immoderate game, close present we're focused connected Battlefield."

I volition accidental that sounds a batch similar the Henry Ford aphorism: “Any colour the lawsuit wants, arsenic agelong arsenic it's black.”