Although EA previously said it would release the next Need for Speed and Battlefield games in March 2022, this will not be entirely the case. The publisher is delaying the next Need for Speed for a year, as its developer, Criterion Games, is temporarily helping EA DICE in Battlefield.
The title of the next Battlefield game has not been revealed, but it will arrive in the fall, said EA studio director Laura Miele. Polygon. Following the purchase of Codemasters by the publisher, EA already has a racing game coming out this year, the next entry in the F1 series. Along with the move to work from home in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, this made the decision logical. Criterion previously collaborated with DICE on the Star Wars Battlefront series and Battle Royale mode in Battlefield 5.
Criterion took over the development of Need for Speed in 2020, after three warmly received entries from Ghost Games. Previously worked on the series and was remastered I need for high speed chase last year. As soon as the studio finishes working on Battlefield, it will return to the Need for Speed game, which is coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as well as other platforms.
Although Miele hasn’t revealed any other details about the upcoming Battlefront yet, she said it would be “a love letter to our fans.” She noted that EA is putting “all the resources we have into it”.
The temporary reassignment of the Criterion occurs amid a broader restructuring in the EA. Last week, the publisher canceled the redesign of the Hymn and supposedly ended work on a game called Gaia after six years of development. The publisher also abandoned its plan to have multiplayer elements in the next Dragon Age game, according to a report.