Five veterans from Criterion they decided to leave the team after the launch of Need for Speed Unbound. However, the game has nothing to do with it: apparently they want to move away from Electronic Arts to try new experiences elsewhere.
The studio has said it would like to make a new Burnout after Need for Speed Unbound, although there are no plans to do so, but apparently any new projects will need to do without five longtime employees.
Specifically, it concerns the vice president and general manager Matt Webster, who leaves the team after twenty-three years, and the head of the studio development division, Alan McDairmant, who has been a member of Criterion for seventeen years.
Among the outgoings are senior technical director Andrei Shires, who has been with the company for sixteen years, and executive producer Pete Lake, who joined Criterion back in 1996. Lastly, head of content Steve Uphill , who has spent the last ten years in those offices.
As mentioned, the motivation of the farewell is the same for everyone: “explore new opportunities outside of Electronic Arts”. Filling the gap were Charity Joy, who transitions from EA Sports UFC to Need for Speed as executive producer, and Geoff Smith, who transitions from DiRT and GRID at Codemasters to play the role of senior director of product development at NFS.
By the way, have you read our review of Need for Speed Unbound?
