A new report revealed that game publisher Electronic Arts has delayed the development of the upcoming new Need for Speed game for support on Battlefield 6.
Media outlet Polygon has recently reported that EA has asked game developer Criterion Games to assist EA DICE in developing the next Battlefield game. As a result, Need for Speed’s next title will be delayed a year. They are trying to make a release of the sixth Battlefield game for the new gen consoles, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S later this year.
EA Chief Studios Officer Laura Miele stated that there has been a lot of factors that contributed in reassigning Criterion. These are the global pandemic, acquisition of Codemasters, and the launch of a racing game in the past 12 months. She did note that both games are not in trouble, they just need to prioritize one game then the other later on.
“There’s no way we would have made a decision like this without including [Criterion] and discussing this with them first, and the impact that they could have on [Battlefield],” Miele said. “They’ve worked on [Star Wars] Battlefront, they’ve worked on Battlefields, and they have a really tight, close collaborative partnership with DICE. I’m really confident that this is going to be a pretty positive win for them.”
“[Battlefield] is shaping up great, the team has been working incredibly hard, they pushed hard last year, and yes, we have been working from home,” Miele told Polygon. “And it’s hard; it’s hard to make games from home, and the [EA DICE] team is fatigued a bit.”
EA assures that the next Need for Speed title’s development will continue after Battlefield 6 is done.