EA delays Need for Speed, puts Criterion on Battlefield 6

EA is shifting developer focus to this year's Battlefield installment.

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Though we’ve yet to get a proper reveal, we know that EA is planning to release Battlefield 6 later this year. With the game in its final year of development, EA is looking to put efforts into overdrive. Now, EA has made the move to delay Need for Speed to 2022, taking the Criterion team and putting them on BF6 to support development.

This news comes from Polygon, as the outlet recently spoke to Laura Miele, EA’s chief studios officer. Originally set to launch in 2021, EA has pushed the release of Need for Speed by roughly a year. This is so that Criterion, the studio working on Need for Speed, can shift its full focus to aiding DICE with development on the next Battlefield game. In Miele's discussion with Polygon, she states that part of the reason for the delay was the ongoing pandemic.

What’s interesting, is that she also speaks to the recent Codemasters acquisition. Miele state’s that EA will release a racing game later this year by way of Codemasters, which made the decision to delay Need for Speed much easier. It’s not been specified what title this will be, but expect a new Codemasters game later this year.

It’s unclear in what capacity Criterion will be involved with Battlefield 6’s development, but the game is still set to launch this year, as confirmed in a recent EA earning’s call. For the latest news and updates on Battlefield 6, as well as the recently delayed Need for Speed, stay right here on Shacknews.

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_

From The Chatty
  • reply
    March 1, 2021 11:15 AM

    Donovan Erskine posted a new article, EA delays Need for Speed, puts Criterion on Battlefield 6

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      March 1, 2021 9:14 AM

      EA shifts Criterion off the next NFS (pushed to 2022) to work on Battlefield 6.

      https://www.polygon.com/2021/3/1/22307226/battlefield-6-release-date-need-for-speed-2021-delayed-ea-dice-criterion-codemasters

      EA does this far too much with its studios when it sees a flagship product failing (causing the side projects to suffer :/ )

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        March 1, 2021 9:44 AM

        The last 26 NFS games have been bad. I guess people must buy thrm but man. They all stink

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        March 1, 2021 10:33 AM

        The main thing I read into this is that the scope they've demanded of Battlefield is too great for its development time.

        It'll be released full of bugs to support the two thirds of the content that nobody plays. Again.

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        March 1, 2021 10:43 AM

        [deleted]

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          March 1, 2021 12:30 PM

          As long as the NFS series is treated like a live-service, open-world explore-o-shooter with combat bits exchanged for race events, you're going to have the same issue. Codemasters is just a different hammer pounding away on the screw that Criterion couldn't drive.

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            March 1, 2021 12:57 PM

            I want a game now called Screwdriver.

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          March 1, 2021 1:26 PM

          I really hope not. I'm not a fan of how the cars feel / handle in the mainstream dirt series. Been trying a bit of 5 on game pass and coming from playing horizon to it cars feel like shit to drive in dirt 5.

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        March 1, 2021 10:56 AM

        Isn't the next battlefield due out late 2021? Throwing a bunch of hands this late into the dev cycle doesn't instill me with confidence but I've become suspect to everything EA; from their business priorities to their product quality.

        The haters were right. Bioware is proof that EA is where studios go to die, not prosper, and I see battlefield V as signs that DICE is travelling the same road.

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      March 1, 2021 11:18 AM

      [deleted]

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      March 1, 2021 12:17 PM

      They did a great job with Firestorm so this is potentially great news.

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      March 1, 2021 12:46 PM

      [deleted]

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        March 1, 2021 1:11 PM

        Exactly what I was thinking -- it seems kind of late to bring in new folks to the project. :/

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      March 1, 2021 1:34 PM

      Ah, classic upper-management "power move"-- assuming that dumping a ton of new resources on a problem is the sure-fire solution to getting a good product out the door, on-time!

      Every exec who pulls this shit just assumes they are a genius and "taking one for the team by eating a bunch of cost", when in reality they're just dooming the project to even bigger disappointment.

      EA's fall from grace has been textbook.

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