Electronic Arts has postponed Need for Speed while Criterion Games is busy creating Battlefield 6. It is likely that, like Burnout, the company's arcade racing games may become a thing of the past.
Blogger Dino Dalle Carbonare presented a new video in which he reported that EA had closed the Speedhunters initiative. Since 2008, it has helped studios collect information about global automotive culture.
He said that in April 2025, they were ordered to stop working - a decision by Electronic Arts, without explanation. The team received no explanation and continued on their own, joining a new project called Turnpike.
By closing Speedhunters, EA made it clear that it no longer intends to monitor the automotive environment, knowledge of which was used in the creation of games. Given that Need for Speed is on "pause", you should not expect a new race from the company in the near future.
In addition, Criterion is now officially described as a "Battlefield Studio". Its main page only mentions work on the sixth part of the series, without mentioning experience in arcade racing. Information about these games can only be found on a separate tab.
By positioning Criterion as a team entirely dedicated to Battlefield, EA makes it clear that the studio has completely switched to this brand. This seems logical if the company's strategy involves annual releases or at least the release of major content for the series.
