Electronic Arts currently appears to be in the process of rebranding Criterion Games with the purpose of identifying it as "a Battlefield studio." The move marks the end of an era for Criterion's Need for Speed franchise, though it's still unclear whether another era will follow.
The Guildford-based developer's attention has been divided between Need for Speed and Battlefield for years now. The 2018 Battlefield 5 featured a battle royale mode made by Criterion, with the studio being given an even bigger role in the development of Battlefield 2042, released in 2021. This resulted in Need for Speed Unbound slipping into 2022. The British company then found itself working on Battlefield 6 not long afterward, stating that the Need for Speed franchise was going on a hiatus in the meantime.
Every Need For Speed By Criterion Games, Ranked
Criterion may not be the only developer to ever work on the Need for Speed franchise, but for many, they are the undisputed kings of NFS design.
New Criterion Logo Suggests Battlefield-Only Future for the NFS Developer
The ongoing break may turn out to be of the permanent variety, as suggested by Criterion's new logo, first spotted by Reddit user aleyyyy420 (via TheGamer). The graphic features a white variant of the company's old logo, but with "A Battlefield Studio" tagline attached to it from below. It can currently only be found in the footer of EA's Criterion Games page, where it wasn't present as late as July 2025, according to cached web data reviewed by The Best War Games. This suggests that the rebranding is currently ongoing, and may yet be accompanied by an official announcement of Criterion going the Battlefield-only route.
Another Studio Could Take Over NFS from Criterion
The move aligns with EA’s history of folding independent subsidiaries into larger franchise ecosystems and repurposing them as support studios. With Criterion now seemingly beholden to Battlefield, the company appears unable to uphold its February 2025 pledge that the Need for Speed franchise will continue. Another EA studio could take over, with the most obvious candidate being Codemasters, the F1 developer that's presently winding down its WRC development efforts because EA is losing the license for the franchise in 2027. However, Codemasters has recently faced layoffs following the licensing news, raising doubts about whether it can immediately begin a new project on a timeline comparable to Criterion’s while still maintaining its F1 development efforts.
Criterion's rebranding and refocusing lends credence to a July 2025 report claiming EA has shelved Need for Speed indefinitely. The publisher's diminishing interest in the series is likely related to Need for Speed Unbound falling short of its predecessor's sales, something that was never officially confirmed but can be gleaned from publicly available player data and third-party estimates.
For fans still holding out hope for a Burnout revival, this news dims those prospects even further. In the meantime, all eyes are on Battlefield 6, which is slated for release on October 10.
Source: EA [cached]
Battlefield 6
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 90%
- Released
- October 10, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-App Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Battlefield Studios
- Publisher(s)
- EA
