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Burnout developer Criterion Games are down to a team of just 17 people, reports GamesIndustry.biz. According to the studio’s creative director, Alex Ward, this is entirely by choice.
Ward made a series of tweets indicating that Criterion has 16 employees at present, with a seventeenth scheduled to join in the future. Following concerns voiced by the studio’s fans, Ward went on to clarify that most Criterion employees have moved on to form a UK branch of Electronic Arts’ Ghost Games studio.
“Most of the Studio was committed to helping on [Need for Speed] Rivals. A small group of chose not to and began work on something new,” Ward said. “We would rather work a small team all focused on gameplay rather than a huge team split by discipline.”
“Hence Ghost UK was formed from a load of Criterion folks. But 15 of us retain the Criterion identity and work in a new location… It’s completely our choice and by design. Small teams do way more these days.”
