author: Michael Zegar
DIRT 5 Devs Will Assist on Need for Speed; Criterion Absorbs Codemasters Cheshire
Criterion Games has absorbed Codemasters Cheshire. The creators of DiRT 5 will help develop this year's installment of the Need for Speed series. Both developers will operate as one company.
GamesIndustry.biz reported today of the inclusion of the Codemasters Cheshire team in Criterion Games, which is currently working on the upcoming installment of Need for Speed. From now on the two developers will operate as one company.. No layoffs have been made throughout the operation.
What will happen now?
Criterion will now lead both its original team located in Guildford (UK) and Codemasters' Cheshire-based staff. Codemasters confirmed the news on Twitter and informed that the two companies have been working closely together for several months now.
History of Criterion Cheshire
The newly appointed Criterion Cheshire has come a long way. It was once known as Evolution Studios and was responsible for Sony exclusive racing games - including the MotorStorm series and DriveClub.
- Following the closure of Evolution by Sony and the hiring of most of its members by Codemasters the team first created OnRush and then worked on DiRT 5, which was released in November 2020.
- Finally, Codemasters was acquired in late 2020 and early 2021 by Electronic Arts. Criterion Cheshire - in addition to helping with the NfS series - is said to working at the moment on "its biggest game in a decade".
