Criterion Game Developers

Criterion Games Description:

Criterion Games based in Guildford, Surrey, is a British video game developer and officially called Criterion Software. It is best known for their work for various Need for Speed games and award-winning racing video game series Burnout.

Criterion Games History:

In 1993, Criterion Software Ltd was produced to commercialize 3D graphics technology. Before being spun out as a majority Canon-owned startup the company was set up by Adam Billyard and David Lau-Kee within Canon's European Research Lab. It was a technology company specialized in the RenderWare family of middleware technology development including AI, audio, physics and graphics components. Criterion Games was originally a division within Criterion Software, using Renderware engine set up to develop games the engine which act as show cases as what possible with platform. The engine has been used in several games such as GTA 3 or Grand Theft Auto III, San Andreas and Vice City developed by Rockstar North & Burnout series which have been developed by Criterion Games. Electronic Arts and Criterion declared after the purchase that RenderWare would be available to the third party customers. But some of the clients thought it was risky to depend on technology owned by the competitor. EA withdrawn the RenderWare engine from commercial middleware market, but the remnants are used by internal developers still.

Electronic Arts in August 2004 announced they had acquired Criterion Games & Criterion Software. It was followed by the release of a first-person shooter game set in Eastern Europe, titled Black, which they applied action movie sensibilities characteristic of Burnout series.

In 2006, Criterion closed its satellite office Derby and made its entire support staff and programmers redundant. Electronic Arts combined Chertsey-based United Kingdom development studio & Criterion Games in the month of March 2007 into a new building in central Guildford. The team Integration didn't occur & before Bright Light the location housed 2 separate development studios: EA Bright Light and Criterion Games shut in the year 2011. Instead of being housed in same building, the Criterion Games still acts entirely independently from rest of Electronic Arts workforce located at Guildford. Criterion announced on 14 June 2010, which Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit had been set for release in the month of November 2010. Software utilizes new game engine named Chameleon. Electronic Arts announced on 1 June 2012 that Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Criterion's second Need for Speed title, was released on 30 October 2012 only few days prior to Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012. Need for Speed is a racing game series and consists 22 installments. Need for Speed games are available on various websites such as freezoneofficial where there are various game collections available for free download. Criterion Games at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 declared that ownership of Need for Speed franchise has been taken by it. Alex Ward announced on 28 April 2013 via Twitter that studio is planning to steer away from its tradition in developing the racing games & despite focusing on other genres for future projects. Criterion elected on 13 September 2013 to cut its staff numbers to seventeen people total, as 80% of studio moved over to Ghost Games UK to the work with Need for Speed games.