14 DAY TRIAL // Criterion Games co-founders Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry, the main names behind the studio, left Electronic Arts back in January in order to create a new studio and work on developing new video game IP.
During their 10 years of work at Criterion Games, their most successful games were the Burnout series, arcade racing titles which garnered quite the following for the unique experience that focused on unbridled action rather than on a realistic simulation.
The new studio that the pair have started is called Three Fields Entertainment, and they seem to be already hard at work, since the company has revealed on Twitter that they're currently developing not one, but two different games.
"We have TWO titles in development and hope to release both in early 2015," the tweet says. No other information has been offered so far, but the devs have mentioned that they might be seeking crowdfunding via Kickstarter in order to realize their plans.
Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry have said that they left EA in order to "star afresh," and it seems that another Criterion member has soon joined them, Paul Ross, who is now chief technical officer over at Three Fields Entertainment.
When the foundation of the new studio was first announced in March via Twitter, Ward said that they were aiming to make games for all the platforms they would be able to self-publish on, mentioning that Nintendo's Wii U would most likely not be one of them.
While working at Criterion Games, Sperry served the role of studio director, while Ward occupied the position of vice president, and their most notable work, aside from the recent Need for Speed titles they worked on, was the Burnout series.
As such, we can only hope that one of the games will be a re-incarnation of Burnout. Although EA still holds the rights to the Burnout IP, nothing is stopping Three Fields from creating a new game that follows in the footsteps of Burnout in everything but name.
Burnout 3 was very well received when it came out on Xbox and PS2, being hailed as the new king of arcade racing and providing memorable multiplayer experiences that defied the laws of physics and encouraged players to crash into each other as often as possible.
The combination of gorgeous visuals and intense action, along with the great licensed soundtrack, made Burnout 3 a game that will forever hold a special place in the memory of many racing fans, who would no doubt enjoy a break from the recent trend of focusing on offering a realistic rally driving and Formula One racing experience.