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Need for Speed devs temporarily move to Battlefield 6 in latest EA studio shakeup

Battlefield is once again getting support from a team of racing game vets

Battlefield 6 is coming (relatively) soon, and EA is keen to ensure that it’s a hit. The publisher has temporarily reassigned the Need for Speed developers at Criterion Games to support DICE on Battlefield 6, and while that does mean the next NFS will be delayed, EA insists that the series of racing games still has a vibrant future ahead of it.

EA chief studios officer Laura Miele tells Polygon that the new Battlefield “is shaping up great, the team has been working incredibly hard, they pushed hard last year, and yes, we have been working from home. And it’s hard; it’s hard to make games from home, and the [EA DICE] team is fatigued a bit.”

Thus, given Criterion’s previous experience supporting DICE on both Battlefront and Battlefield, the typically driving-focused studio is being brought in to help bring Battlefield 6 through the final stages of development. DICE LA, led by Respawn’s Vince Zampella, is also supporting the new Battlefield, with work on the game’s live service offerings.

It appears that EA has been going for quite a few changes recently. Over at BioWare, the Anthem reboot has been cancelled, and reports have indicated that Dragon Age is dropping live service hooks in favour of a fully single-player experience.

Elsewhere on Miele’s interview circuit, she tells IGN that the publisher aims to adopt a more player and developer forward strategy – an effort that’s already had excellent results in the Command & Conquer remaster and a complete turnaround for Battlefront 2, not to mention upcoming things like the new Skate, the return of college football games, and the Mass Effect remasters. Here’s hoping the new approach continues to pay off.