Criterion's Battlefield Rebrand is the end of the way of need for speed

Electronic art currently seems to be about to reclassify Criterion in order to identify it as “a battlefield studio.” The move marks the end of an era for criteria Needs needs Franchise, although it is still unclear if another era will follow.

The Guildford-based developer's attention has been shared between Needs needs and Battlefield For several years now. 2018 Battlefield 5 presented a Battle Royale mode made of criterion, where the studio was given an even greater role in the development of Battlefield 2042released in 2021. This resulted in Need for speed unbound slipped in 2022. The British company was then working on Battlefield 6 not long afterwards, say that Needs needs Franchise was going on in the meantime.

New Criterial Logotype only suggests Futtfield Future for the NFS developer

The ongoing break may prove to be of the permanent variety, which is suggested by Criterion's new logo, first discovered by Reddit user Aleyyy420 (via Thegamer). The graphics have a white variant of the company's old logo, but with “A Battlefield Studio” tagline linked to it from below. There are currently only on the footer on EA's Criterion Games page, where it was not present as late as July 2025, according to Cached Web data reviewed by Game Rant. This suggests that reclassification is currently in progress and can still be accompanied by an official announcement of criterion that goes Battlefield-As Route.

Another studio can take over NFS from the criterion

The move is in line with EA's history of trapping independent subsidiaries into larger franchise systems and reusing them as support studios. With criterion now apparently see BattlefieldThe company does not seem to be able to maintain its promise of February 2025 that Needs needs Franchise will continue. Another EA studio can take over, with the most obvious candidate as Kodemasters, F1 developers who are currently decommissioning their WRC Development efforts because EA is losing the license for Franchisen 2027. However, Kodemaster has recently met redundancy after the licensing news and raises doubt as to whether it can immediately start a new project on a timeline comparable to criterion while still maintaining its F1 Development efforts.

Need for speed image showing different cars driving from a city

The criterion's reclassification and re -focusing gives credibility to a report from July 2025 claiming that EA has praised Needs needs unlimited. The Publisher's Diminative Interest in the series is probably related to Need for speed unbound To avoid the predecessor's sale, something that was never officially confirmed but can be taken from publicly available player data and third -party estimates.

For fans still holding out the hope for one Burnout Recycle, this news further suppresses these prospects. Meanwhile, all eyes are on Battlefield 6which is scheduled to be released on October 10.

Source: Ea [cached]