Criterion Games
 | |
| Subsidiary of Electronic Arts | |
| Industry |
Computer and video games Interactive entertainment |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder |
Alex Ward Fiona Sperry |
| Headquarters | Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom |
Key people |
Matt Webster (General Manager and Executive Producer) Alan McDairmant (Director of Product Development) Steve Cuss (Senior Producer) Alex Mole (Technical Director) |
| Products |
Chameleon RenderWare Burnout series (2001–11) Need for Speed series (2010–13) |
| Owner | Electronic Arts |
Number of employees | 25 (2014)[1] |
| Parent | Electronic Arts |
| Website | Criterion Games |
Criterion Games (officially called Criterion Software) is a British video game developer based in Guildford, Surrey that are best known for their work on the award-winning racing video game series Burnout and various Need for Speed games.
History
Criterion Software Ltd was created in 1993 to commercialise 3D graphics rendering technology. It was set up by David Lau-Kee and Adam Billyard within Canon's European Research Lab, before being spun out as a majority Canon-owned startup. Criterion Software was a technology company specialising in the development of the RenderWare family of middleware technology, including graphics, AI, audio and physics components. Originally Criterion Games was a division within Criterion Software, set up to develop games, using the Renderware engine, which would act as show cases as to what was possible with the platform. RenderWare is used in such games as Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which are developed by Rockstar North, and the successful Burnout series, developed in-house by Criterion Games.
In August 2004, Electronic Arts announced they had acquired Criterion Games and Criterion Software for a rumored £40 million, taking into account the purchase price and existing debt. This was followed by the release of Black, a first-person shooter set in Eastern Europe, to which they applied the action movie sensibilities characteristic of the Burnout series.
After the purchase, both Criterion and Electronic Arts declared that RenderWare would continue to be made available to third party customers. However, some clients decided it was too risky to rely on technology owned by a competitor. Electronic Arts has since withdrawn RenderWare from the commercial middleware market, although remnants are still used by internal developers.
In the summer of 2006, the company closed its Derby satellite office, making all of its programmers and support staff redundant. In early March 2007, Electronic Arts combined its Chertsey-based UK development studio and Criterion Games into a new building in central Guildford. Integration of the teams did not occur and the location housed two very separate development studios: Criterion Games and EA Bright Light before Bright Light was shut permanently in 2011. Despite being housed in the same building, Criterion Games still acts entirely independently from the rest of the Electronic Arts workforce located at Guildford.
On 14 June 2010, Criterion announced that Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was set for release in November 2010.[2] The software utilizes a new game engine named Chameleon.[3] On 1 June 2012, Electronic Arts announced Criterion's second Need for Speed title, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, only a few days prior to the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012, which was released on 30 October 2012.[4] At Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012, Criterion Games announced that it had taken sole ownership of the Need for Speed franchise.[5]
On 28 April 2013, Alex Ward announced via Twitter that the studio is planning to steer away from its tradition in developing racing games and are instead focusing on other genres for future projects.[6] On 13 September 2013, Criterion elected to cut its staff numbers to 17 people total, as 80% (70 people) of the studio moved over to Ghost Games UK to work with Need for Speed games.[7][8]
On 3 January 2014, it was announced that co-founders Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry have left Criterion to found a new studio,[9] Three Fields Entertainment. Their first game Dangerous Golf, slated for release in May 2016, combined ideas from Burnout and Black and is to lead them throws a spiritual successor to Burnout.[10]
In June 2015, news site Nintendo Life reveals that in early 2011 Nintendo of Europe approached Criterion to work on a pitch for a new F-Zero game which they hoped to unveil at E3 that same year alongside the then-unreleased Wii U console, and potentially release the game during the console's launch period. However, the developer was unable to handle the pitch as, at the time, they devoted much of their resources into the development of Need for Speed: Most Wanted for multiple platforms. The site was tipped by an anonymous, yet "reliable" source, but they had confirmed this information when Criterion co-founder Alex Ward (who left the company in 2014) admitted that Nintendo of Europe did indeed approach the company for a potential F-Zero game on the Wii U.[11] Alex Ward also noted on Twitter that Criterion was also offered the opportunity to work on the first Forza, Mad Max, a Vauxhall only racer, a Command & Conquer first-person shooter and a Gone in 60 Seconds game.[12]
Games developed
| Year | Game | Platform(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Scorched Planet | Microsoft Windows | |
| 1997 | SpeedBoat Attack | ||
| Sub Culture | |||
| 1998 | Redline Racer | ||
| 1999 | TrickStyle | Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows | |
| Suzuki Alstare Racing | |||
| 2000 | Deep Fighter | ||
| 2001 | Burnout | PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox | |
| AirBlade | PlayStation 2 | ||
| 2002 | Burnout 2: Point of Impact | PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox | |
| 2004 | Burnout 3: Takedown | PlayStation 2, Xbox | |
| 2005 | Burnout Revenge | PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360 | |
| Burnout Legends | PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS | Burnout Spin-off, In association with Visual Impact | |
| 2006 | Black | PlayStation 2, Xbox | |
| 2008 | Burnout Paradise | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows | |
| 2010 | Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit | ||
| 2011 | Burnout Crash![13] | PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, iOS | Burnout Spin-off |
| 2012 | Need for Speed: Most Wanted | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Wii U | |
| 2013 | Need for Speed Rivals | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | In association with Ghost Games |
| 2015 | Battlefield Hardline | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Whilst half the studio was discovering the new (currently untitled) game I.P, the other half were helping Visceral Games with Battlefield Hardline and are credited under EAUK. |
| 2015 | Star Wars Battlefront | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | Assisted EA DICE in developing the speeder bike tutorial mission.[14][15] |
| TBA | Untitled Criterion Games new IP | TBA | New driving game IP with ATVs, helicopters, wing suits, etc. announced at E3 2014 |
References
- ↑ Robinson, Martin (17 July 2014). "What's going on at Criterion?". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- ↑ "Electronic Arts revs up new Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit". GameSpot. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ↑ "Tech Interview: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit". Eurogamer. 31 July 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ↑ "Most Wanted is out today". Retrieved 30 October 2012.
- ↑ "Criterion Takes Over Entire Need For Speed Series". Game Informer. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ↑ "Criterion Games not planning new a 'Need For Speed' or 'Burnout'". Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ↑ "Criterion Games staff reduced to 17 as 60-65 people move over to Ghost Games". VG247.com.
- ↑ Scamell, David. "The Ghost Of Criterions past.".
- ↑ Crecente, Brian (3 January 2014). "Co-founders of Criterion Games, creators of Burnout, leave studio [update]". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- ↑ Wawro, Alex (26 January 2016). "'You've got to make something that you love' - Designing Dangerous Golf". Gamasutra. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ↑ Robertson, Liam (2015-06-23). "Exclusive: We Almost Got A Wii U F-Zero Created By Burnout Studio Criterion". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2015-06-23.
- ↑ Phillips, Tom (23 June 2015). "Nintendo asked Burnout dev to make Wii U F-Zero". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
- ↑ "New Burnout Game in Development". IGN. 2 April 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/criteriongames/status/670247581621100550
- ↑ https://twitter.com/criteriongames/status/670248394657538048
External links
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