Criterion Games Reduced To 17 Staff Members

The development studio behind the Burnout series and last year’s Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Criterion Games, has been reduced to just 17 staff members, if a recent tweet from creative director Alex Ward is to be believed. Before getting up in arms about this news and beginning to wail about the loss of yet another once-great studio, it is important to note that this is, seemingly, a conscious decision from the studio itself, with the other 60-65 people who worked there having been spun off into Ghost Games UK, a sister studio to Ghost Games (formerly EA Gothenburg), who are now the helmers of the Need for Speed franchise.

While Criterion’s current project has not been announced, Ward took to Twitter earlier in the year to debunk the theory that they were working on either a new Need for Speed or Burnout title. Indeed, he hinted that their latest project isn’t even a racing game.

We’ll keep you updated on the future of Criterion, and whatever game it is that they are currently developing as more information becomes available.