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Criterion's Alex Ward (CD)/Fiona Sperry (SD) resign, start new studio, Crit on new IP

I

iMax

Member
Polygon said:
Alex Ward, vice president and creative director of Criterion Games, and Fiona Sperry, studio director, are both no longer working at the studio, Electronic Arts has confirmed to Polygon.

"Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry have decided to leave EA," a spokesperson told Polygon this morning. "We appreciate their many contributions through the years and wish them well in their future endeavours.

"The incredibly creative and talented team at Criterion are hard at work on a new project for next-gen consoles as new IP continues to be a major priority across EA. Matt Webster is leading development of the new game and the Criterion studio moving forward. Matt has been part of Criterion for years and has an exciting vision for this new game."

The departure comes at a time of uncertainty in the studio, following several years of changing focus for what the studio was working on. Ward's most recent LinkedIn profile shows that he's working on "unannounced project zero." Sperry's LinkedIn profile shows her working on the "Team Zero" project, which is described as "the next thing from Criterion Games." We've reached out to both Ward and Sperry for comment and will update this story when they respond.

The two formed Criterion Games in 2000 out of Criterion Software, a technology company that developed RenderWare. In the years since, the studio created and nurtured the over-the-top Burnout racing games. Following the 2010 release of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and 2011's Burnout Crash, Criterion was given stewardship of the Need for Speed franchise with Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

In a 2012 interview with Polygon, Most Wanted executive producer Matt Webster told Polygon that while all future Need for Speed games may not be developed by Criterion, but that the studio would have creative oversight of the franchise moving forward.

"We are always going to have a handle in it," Webster said at the time. "We're not really talking about where we go next, but we definitely have a creative hand on the tiller."

But just one year later that was no longer the case. During a Gamescom interview in August of last year, Need for Speed Rivals executive producer Marcus Nilsson told Polygon that the newly created Ghost Games studio was now in charge of the franchise.

"Ghost is now leading Need for Speed and there will certainly be some announcements about how that will evolve and work in the near future," Marcus Nilsson, executive producer on the game, told Polygon. "Criterion is doing something else, but that doesn't mean they can't help us on this."

Nilsson said that about 80 percent of Criterion was working on Rivals with the remaining group working on a mysterious "new project." A month later, Alex Ward tweeted that 60 to 65 people moved from Criterion over to Ghost Games, seemingly permanently, to work on the game and the franchise, leaving about 20 at Criterion.

That same month, Andrew Wilson was made CEO of Electronic Arts and shifted EVP of EA Labels Patrick Soderlund to become the EVP of EA Studios. With that shift, the Need for Speed franchise was moved over to reporting to Matt Bilbey, a senior vice president of EA who oversees sports.

"We think that could benefit from from fresh eyes, could benefit from some different thinking, and we think that Matt is the right guy to do that," Solderlund told Polygon at the time. "He's got a very different viewpoint about how to make games and what great games."
Click to expand...

Source

---

Alex Ward:

AW said:
@davescook Just decided to start afresh and form a new games company with @FionaSperry #freshstart
Click to expand...
Source: https://twitter.com/AlexanderJWard/status/419136419316379648
 
T

TimmiT

Member
Lock/mock if old and stuff.
Alex Ward, vice president and creative director of Criterion Games, and Fiona Sperry, studio director, are both no longer working at the studio, Electronic Arts has confirmed to Polygon.

"Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry have decided to leave EA," a spokesperson told Polygon this morning. "We appreciate their many contributions through the years and wish them well in their future endeavours.


"The incredibly creative and talented team at Criterion are hard at work on a new project for next-gen consoles as new IP continues to be a major priority across EA. Matt Webster is leading development of the new game and the Criterion studio moving forward. Matt has been part of Criterion for years and has an exciting vision for this new game."

The departure comes at a time of uncertainty in the studio, following several years of changing focus for what the studio was working on. Ward's most recent LinkedIn profile shows that he's working on "unannounced project zero." Sperry's LinkedIn profile shows her working on the "Team Zero" project, which is described as "the next thing from Criterion Games." We've reached out to both Ward and Sperry for comment and will update this story when they respond.

The two formed Criterion Games in 2000 out of Criterion Software, a technology company that developed RenderWare. In the years since, the studio created and nurtured the over-the-top Burnout racing games. Following the 2010 release of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and 2011's Burnout Crash, Criterion was given stewardship of the Need for Speed franchise with Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

In a 2012 interview with Polygon, Most Wanted executive producer Matt Webster told Polygon that while all future Need for Speed games may not be developed by Criterion, but that the studio would have creative oversight of the franchise moving forward.

"We are always going to have a handle in it," Webster said at the time. "We're not really talking about where we go next, but we definitely have a creative hand on the tiller."

But just one year later that was no longer the case. During a Gamescom interview in August of last year, Need for Speed Rivals executive producer Marcus Nilsson told Polygon that the newly created Ghost Games studio was now in charge of the franchise.

"Ghost is now leading Need for Speed and there will certainly be some announcements about how that will evolve and work in the near future," Marcus Nilsson, executive producer on the game, told Polygon. "Criterion is doing something else, but that doesn't mean they can't help us on this."

Nilsson said that about 80 percent of Criterion was working on Rivals with the remaining group working on a mysterious "new project." A month later, Alex Ward tweeted that 60 to 65 people moved from Criterion over to Ghost Games, seemingly permanently, to work on the game and the franchise, leaving about 20 at Criterion.

That same month, Andrew Wilson was made CEO of Electronic Arts and shifted EVP of EA Labels Patrick Soderlund to become the EVP of EA Studios. With that shift, the Need for Speed franchise was moved over to reporting to Matt Bilbey, a senior vice president of EA who oversees sports.

"We think that could benefit from from fresh eyes, could benefit from some different thinking, and we think that Matt is the right guy to do that," Solderlund told Polygon at the time. "He's got a very different viewpoint about how to make games and what great games."
Click to expand...
http://www.polygon.com/2014/1/3/5269474/co-founders-of-criterion-games-leave-studio

RIP Criterion
 
K

Kazuma Kiryu

Member
So that's burnout pretty much dead now. Great, another one to add to the list of franchises EA has touched and turned everything to shit.
 
F

FonkyByNature

Member
I see this news as very good for me.

Since they have been with EA, Criterion games took a dump quality wise. Releasing only Need for Speed games with 30fps is just shit and they know that !

I miss the days of Burnout 1-2-3-Revenge.... best arcade racing games ever !

I hope they comeback with a bang and make a kick-ass arcade racing game !
 
S

SolidSnakex

Member
MikeJAMoran said:
So is that's Criterion pretty much dead, then? End of an era at the very least.
Click to expand...

Not really since a large chunk of them split off from Criterion last year and formed Ghost Games UK. Including the guy that's been the biggest player in Criterion's racers over last gen (Craig Sullivan).
 
D

Diablo Rosso

Member
Change Bioware to Criterion...

video-game-memes-papea-kills-off-developers.jpg
 
M

meppi

Member
FonkyByNature said:
I see this news as very good for me.

Since they have been with EA, Criterion games took a dump quality wise. Releasing only Need for Speed games with 30fps is just shit and they know that !

I miss the days of Burnout 1-2-3-Revenge.... best arcade racing games ever !

I hope they comeback with a bang and make a kick-ass arcade racing game !
Click to expand...

Pretty much. Loved the old Burnout games, but after the last one and getting 2 Need for Speed games from them, I'm done with the studio.
Don't like their current racing game template at all.
 
U

Ushojax

Should probably not trust the 7-11 security cameras quite so much
It's amazing how EA keep doing the same thing over and over. Studio makes seminal game(s), EA buys them, quality nosedives and studio heads resign before the entire outfit gets taken outside and shot, forced to work on map packs.
 
S

Steverulez

Member
Most of the studio got split off to form Ghost UK or whatever so this isn't a surprise, don't think we were given much of an idea of what they were working on, I imagine EA will consolidate the rest into Ghost UK or shut them down.
 
P

Prine

Banned
Alex Ward came to my work place once to give everyone an insight about his role at criterion and producing quality, he seemed extremley passionate and highly ambitious. Wish him the best, came across as insanely talented. Hope he continues to make videogames.
 
I

iMax

Member
Steverulez said:
Most of the studio got split off to form Ghost UK or whatever so this isn't a surprise, don't think we were given much of an idea of what they were working on, I imagine EA will consolidate the rest into Ghost UK or shut them down.
Click to expand...

They're working on a new non-racing IP for next-gen systems. That's all we know!
 
S

SmokyDave

Member
There is so much talent floating around at the moment. I want a UK based racing superstudio to emerge from the rubble.
 
G

Glass Rebel

Member
I think it's silly and petty to wish bankruptcy upon EA.

And then stuff like this happens.

One of the worst companies in this industry.
 
B

BatDan

Bane? Get them on board, I'll call it in.
EA continues their mission of burning everything they own to the fucking ground.

I wish all the best for the two of them.
 
M

megalowho

Member
Seems like good news, they got out and have creative freedom on a new project. Interested to see the team they put together and what they come up with.
 
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