Criterion’s Next Game Won’t Be a Racing Title

Those expecting Criterion’s next game to be a Burnout sequel might want to cool down. The company’s creative director Alex Ward took to Twitter and posted the following message:

After over a decade of making racing games it’s time to make something new. It is early days thus I have nothing to “announce” or talk about

For me this is a shame, the studio’s last Burnout title Paradise City was my favorite racing title of all time and their Need for Speed games weren’t too shabby either. The only game I can think of theirs to not be a racer is the FPS Black. That game looked insanely good at the time, however the storyline and gameplay did not live up to the hype.

Criterion’s been part of EA for a long time now, and if you think about it, this announcement comes at an intriguing time. Electronic Arts currently does not have a CEO to make these decisions, so maybe the British developer wants out while it still can.

I’ll be keeping an eye out on any developments of this front. I really liked all of Criterion’s racing titles and I want to know what else they are capable of. Perhaps they’ll go back to developing an engine and start licensing it out, Renderware anyone? Although, I seriously doubt EA would do that at this time.