Need for Speed now officially Criterion's baby

Criterion VP Alex Ward revealed that the company took over the Need for Speed series in an interview at E3 with GameInformer. Noting that the franchise will see "strong Criterion involvement" going forward, Ward said that he will be "personally involved in how the cars drive, how the game will play out, how connected they are, and what the features are."

"It's not going to be spread anymore across different companies. Different studios have had a crack at it – it's definitely a Criterion gig now," he said.

Regarding the variety in Need For Speed titles and features (such as Hot Pursuit, Shift, and Most Wanted), Ward added, "I think it would be amazing in the future if there was one big game that had all of these in it. That would be amazing."