Criterion Games

Criterion Games is a developer.

Criterion Games Webpage, Facebook

A British development studio based in Guildford. Criterion Games, originally known as Criterion Studios, was founded in 1996 and rose to global fame thanks to its Burnout racing series. Since 2004, the studio has been owned by Electronic Arts.

History

Criterion Games' origins date back to December 1993, when David Lau-Kee and Adam Billyard founded Criterion Software under Canon's European branch. The team was tasked with creating multimedia tools designed for working with 2D and 3D graphics. Later that same year, Criterion Software introduced the first version of its proprietary RenderWare technology, used for texture mapping and rendering. To demonstrate its capabilities, the team also created its first interactive demo, CyberStreet. Although RenderWare achieved success, competition from Argonaut Software (later Argonaut Games) - which not only developed technology with similar capabilities but also produced games with it - spurred the developers to roll up their sleeves, expand their staff, and assemble a team dedicated to creating their own titles.

The first video games

Criterion Studios, as the team was called, began operating in 1996. Its first production was the shooter Scorched Planet, published the same year by Virgin Interactive. Two more Criterion Studios games appeared in 1997: Speedboat Attack, published by Telstar Electronic Studios, and Sub Culture, an action-adventure title released by Ubi Soft (later Ubisoft). In 1998, Criterion Studios developed its first racing game, Redline Racer, which also became its first title (again published by Ubi Soft) to appear not only on personal computers but also on the Dreamcast console. The developers grew so fond of Sega's hardware that between 1999 and 2000 they created two additional titles for it: TrickStyle (Acclaim Entertainment) and Deep Fighter (Ubi Soft). After the release of TrickStyle, Fiona Sperry (who had joined the team in 1997) and Alex Ward (formerly of Acclaim Entertainment) were appointed to lead Criterion Studios, which also changed its name to Criterion Games in the process. In 2001, the studio released the extreme sports game AirBlade for PlayStation 2.

The Burnout era and the transition to EA

Additionally, in 2001, Acclaim Entertainment released Burnout for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. It was a spectacular racing game that stood out from the competition thanks to its incredibly realistic crashes. The title was both a commercial and critical success, so Criterion Games followed up in 2002. Burnout 2: Point of Impact sold very well, even though its publisher, Acclaim Entertainment, failed to run an effective promotional campaign, particularly in the United States. The third installment in the series, Burnout 3: Takedown, was released for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2004, published by Electronic Arts. In October of the same year, EA acquired Criterion Software (and Criterion Games) from Canon's European division for $68 million. Although RenderWare technology was meant to remain available to third-party developers, over time fewer and fewer companies adopted it.

Under Electronic Arts, Criterion Games was able to expand its reach and concentrate on developing its flagship series. In 2005, Burnout Revenge was released on home consoles, while Burnout Legends came out on handhelds (PSP and NDS). A boost for the developers came with the warmly received shooter Black, released in 2006 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. In 2007, the company's founders, David Lau-Kee and Adam Billyard, left Criterion Games. In 2008, Burnout Paradise was released, the first truly next-gen installment in the series, appearing on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and later on PC. For some, this game was the team's magnum opus.

In 2010, it was announced that Electronic Arts had entrusted Criterion Games with the development of the popular racing franchise Need for Speed. This led to two games developed entirely by the studio: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010) and Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012), as well as one installment created in collaboration with Ghost Games - Need for Speed Rivals (2013).

Dark clouds...

In April 2013, Electronic Arts announced that Ghost Games would take over development of the Need for Speed series from Criterion Games. In September 2013, most members of the team moved to that studio, leaving only 17 employees at the company. In November 2013, Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry announced that they would soon be leaving Criterion Games.

From a player's perspective, it seemed that Criterion Games was gradually being sidelined by Electronic Arts. In 2016, Star Wars: Battlefront was released, and the studio created a free expansion for it - Rogue One: VR X-Wing Mission. The team then collaborated on Star Wars: Battlefront II and Battlefield V.

...and a return to the top league

In February 2020, Electronic Arts announced that after the release and moderate reception of Need for Speed: Heat, the Ghost Games studio responsible for it would be renamed EA Gothenburg and would shift its focus to engineering support for the other teams under EA. Development of the racing series was once again entrusted to Criterion Games, strengthened in part by former Ghost Games employees. The team quickly got to work and showcased the first results of its new project through a tech demo later that same year. In May 2022, we learned that Criterion Games had absorbed the studio Codemasters Cheshire, which had previously delivered DiRT 5.

The first rumors about the new Need for Speed suggested that the developers planned to incorporate cartoon-style elements into the game. As it later turned out, those reports were accurate. On October 6th, 2022, Need for Speed: Unbound was officially announced. In addition to the aforementioned cartoonish elements (character models and various visual effects accompanying the fight for a place on the podium), the game was meant to stand out from its predecessors with a more realistic driving model and an extensive story. Need for Speed: Unbound launched on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on December 2nd, 2022. The game received a moderately positive reception - according to Metacritic, average scores from industry media ranged between 73-77/100, depending on the platform. Players were less enthusiastic about the game - their average ratings on the same aggregator ranged from 5.3 to 6.6 out of 10, depending on the platform, with the PS5 version receiving the highest average.

Shortly after, on December 18th, five veteran members left Criterion Games. They were Vice President and General Manager Matt Webster, Executive Producer Peter Lake, Technical Director Andrei Shires, Head of Production Alan McDairmant, and Head of Content Steve Uphill. After their departures, Charity Joy, who had previously worked on the EA Sports UFC series, became the new executive producer for the franchise, while Geoff Smith, formerly overseeing the DiRT and GRID series, took on the role of Senior Director of Development.