Several employees leave Criterion following the launch of Need for Speed ​​Unbound

Five senior members of Need for Speed ​​developer Criterion’s team left the studio following the release of Need for Speed ​​Unbound last month.

as reported GamesIndustryCriterion’s vice president and general manager Matt Webster has left the studio after 23 years, as has the studio’s head of development and 17-year Criterion veteran Alan McDairmant.

They are joined by Senior Technical Director Andrei Shires, who has been with the company for 16 years, as well as Executive Producer Pete Lake, who first joined Criterion in 1996. Chief Content Officer, Steve Uphill, he is also leaving after his last job of 10 years. I go through Criterion. It is said that everyone left the developer to “explore new opportunities outside of EA.”

Following the news of the departures, EA confirmed that Charity Joy had been transferred from the EA Sports UFC franchise to serve as executive producer on Need for Speed, while Geoff Smith, who previously oversaw Dirt and Grid at Codemasters, is now senior director of product development for Need for Speed.

Despite a fairly subdued launch that came with little fanfare from EA, Need for Speed ​​Unbound was a strong launch for the series, with Eurogamer calling it a “Arcade racer that’s capable of going toe-to-toe with the all-conquering Forza Horizon.”