Electronic Arts has paused all development on its popular “Need for Speed” series and is working with developer Criterion Games on the next “Battlefield” game, a report said on Monday. The development comes as EA shared pre-alpha gameplay footage of the next Battlefield game and announced plans for a new community testing program. While everyone at Criterion is now helping develop the military shooter series, EA plans to return to the NFS series at some point.
Work standards for the next battlefield
Vince Zampella, head of EA Respawn Entertainment and now the head of Battlefield, told Eurogamer on Monday that NFS developers are currently working on the shooter.
“Criterion’s Need for Speed ​​team is working alongside our colleagues on Battlefield. As a company, we’ve had to spend the past year listening to the Need for Speed ​​community and using their feedback to create content for Unbound,” Zampella told the publication.
“As we learn more about what players want from the Need for Speed ​​experience, we plan to bring the series back in new and interesting ways,” he added.
Back in September 2023, EA announced that Criterion would join the company’s EA Entertainment division, overseen by Zampella. Most of the studio will be working on the next Battlefield game.
“As we’ve said before, we’re fully committed to Battlefield. Today, Criterion joins our world-class Battlefield studio dedicated to ushering in a new era for the series. The majority of the team will work alongside DICE, Ripple Effect and Ridgeline, led by Battlefield general manager Byron Beede,” Zampella said at the time.
However, the executive said a core team at Criterion will also remain working on the next steps for the NFS franchise. Since then, Need of Speed ​​Unbound – the final game in the NFS series – has received additional content updates.
Criterion has been working on the Need for Speed ​​series since 2010 and has assisted in the development of Battlefield games since Battlefield 1 in 2016.
Details on the next Battlefield game
EA is hard at work developing the next entry in the series to compete directly with Activision’s Call of Duty. After 2021’s Battlefield 2042 received backlash from players, the company has pledged to take feedback and return to the series’ roots with the next game.
The next “Battlefield” is confirmed to return to the modern setting and bring back 64-player maps. EA shared these details and revealed concept art for the game in September 2024.
On Monday, the company finally showed off a short pre-alpha gameplay clip for the next Battlefield game and announced the launch of Battlefield Labs, a community testing program that will help incorporate player feedback into the final game.
