EA to Continue Dual Studio Strategy for Need for Speed

Electronic Arts will continue to have two studios working on its Need for Speed franchise, alternating between Black Box and Criterion Games every year.

The NFS series was originally worked upon by a single studio, Black Box, but EA mixed things up in recent years, bringing in Criterion Games, the developer of the Burnout franchise, and Slightly Mad Studios, which specialized in simulators. Seeing as how this led to a resurgence in popularity for the racing series, EA has confirmed that it will continue alternating between studios, namely Black Box and Criterion Games, for all upcoming releases.

"We're going to continue to pursue the dual strategy of alternating studios and that will always be the strategy, but we will optimize the business to maximize quality and to maximize what we need to do," EA Labels president Frank Gibeau told CVG. This year's NFS game - Most Wanted - is coming from Criterion, so the 2013 iteration will no doubt arrive from Black Box.

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