Pour One Out for Need for Speed: EA Rebrands Criterion as a 'Battlefield Studio'

If you've been a fan of arcade racers for the last two decades, I've got some shitty news for you. The final nail has been hammered into the coffin of hope for both the Need for Speed and Burnout franchises. Criterion Games, the legendary studio behind Burnout Paradise and the recent, pretty damn good Need for Speed Unbound, has been officially rebranded by EA, confirming what we all feared: they're a support studio now.

Credit: Need for Speed Unbound

The Writing on the Wall

This move isn't a total shock, but it still stings. Rumors have been swirling for a while, starting with a report last month that EA had effectively "shelved" the Need for Speed series. That whisper became a lot louder when it was confirmed that Criterion was being pulled in to help with the development of Battlefield 6.

The final confirmation came when a user on the Need for Speed subreddit spotted the change on Criterion's own official website. The studio's name has been changed to the soul-crushing "Criterion - A Battlefield Studio". It's a clear signal that the developer's primary, if not sole, purpose moving forward is to work on EA's military shooter franchise.

Another One Bites the Dust

We've seen this story before. It's the Vicarious Visions playbook all over again, where a talented studio with its own identity gets absorbed and repurposed into a support role for a bigger franchise. The vibe over on the Need for Speed subreddit is, understandably, bleak as hell right now as fans reckon with the news.

And for the long-suffering Burnout fans? This is it. The last proper entry was Burnout Paradise all the way back in 2008. Any flicker of hope that EA might let Criterion return to its glorious, metal-crunching roots is now officially extinguished.

While there's always a slim chance this could change in the future, let's be realistic. A name change this official is a statement of intent from EA. One of the best arcade racing developers on the planet is now dedicated to a franchise they have no history with, leaving two beloved series to rot. Wonderful.