EA has confirmed Ghost Games will be shutting down as the Need for Speed franchise will be handed back to Criterion Games.
EA advised that 30 Ghost Games positions were affected by these changes. A new studio, EA Gothenburg will retrieve some of Ghost Games staff and to support he development across EA's studios alongside the Frostbite engine. Other remaining staff will be moved into Criterion or other EA studios.
Ghost Games had developed the following in the franchise: Need for Speed: Rivals (2013), Need for Speed (2015), Need for Speed: Payback (2017) and Need for Speed: Heat (2019).
Criterion had also developed Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010) and Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012) but is best known for its Burnout franchise. The studio is also known for supporting the development of Star Wars: Battlefront (2015), Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017) and Battlefield 5‘s Firestorm battle royale mode (2019).
