Criterion turns 30 as a Battlefield studio — but its Burnout and NFS roots still matter

Criterion Games hit its 30th anniversary this year, and EA marked the occasion by making one thing unmistakably clear: the Guildford studio is now a Battlefield studio, full stop. VP and GM of Battlefield Studios Europe Rebecka Coutaz said it plainly — "we are solely focused on Battlefield" — while standing in front of a wall bearing the studio's new logo, which reads "Criterion: a Battlefield Studio."

The anniversary event did nod to the past — a greatest-hits montage of cars, a stop at a Need For Speed arcade cabinet on the studio tour, passing mentions of old titles — but the bulk of the day was spent on how Criterion's audio, animation, and technical teams now feed into Battlefield 6. The studio has been a collaborative partner on the series since Battlefield 1 in 2016, contributing to Battlefields 5, 2042, and now 6. When asked whether the studio's scope might expand beyond Battlefield, Coutaz gave no ground.

That laser focus is a long way from where Criterion started. Founded in January 1996 by Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry as a subdivision of Criterion Software — itself owned by Canon — the studio's original purpose was to showcase Renderware, the 3D graphics engine Canon had been developing since 1993. Early titles like Scorched Planet (1996), Sub Culture (1997), and Redline Racer (1998) were essentially tech demos with personality: fast, visually sharp, and laced with the kind of dry British humor that would become a studio signature. Redline Racer hid a rideable dinosaur named Barnaby and a bike called Sub Culture as easter eggs; Trickstyle had a TRAVOLTA cheat code. That irreverence carried forward into Burnout, which used Renderware to make racing feel genuinely dangerous, and later into the Need For Speed games Criterion helmed. Senior producer Danny Isaac, whose EA credits stretch back to 1994, put it directly: "We are unashamedly British. As a studio, we've got to have fun building it."

Whether that identity survives the full pivot to a first-person shooter franchise remains the real question hanging over the anniversary. Criterion's creative DNA — speed, spectacle, humor, a distinct sense of feel — built some of the most beloved racing games ever made, and it would be a shame if that heritage got quietly archived behind a Battlefield logo. For now, the studio is heads-down on Battlefield 6, and EA clearly wants the conversation to stay there.