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Tag: Ghost Games

  • Criterion Games Founders Leave EA, Form New Studio

    Criterion Games, one of the most talented developers in the games industry, is one of the last studios you’d expect to see lose talent. That’s exactly what’s happening today with the departure of the studio’s founders.

    Polygon reports that Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry – the two founders of Criterion Games – have officially left the developer and its owners at Electronic Arts. EA broke the news this morning saying that it “appreciate[s] their many contributions through the years and wish them well in their future endeavors.”

    Like with any high profile departure, people are already worried that this means the end of Criterion. After all, things seemingly go downhill when a studio’s founders leave. It doesn’t make it any less worrisome knowing that Criterion was gutted last year to add more manpower to the newly formed Ghost Games, developers on Need for Speed Rivals.

    EA probably anticipated such fears and released a statement saying that Criterion is still sticking around. The studio has about 20 people working on a new IP which EA claims is a “major priority” for the publisher going forward. This new IP is now being headed up by studio producer Matt Webster who is now in charge of the entire studio.

    So, what about Ward and Sperry? While the two haven’t revealed all of their plans, Ward did share the following statement via Twitter:

    As for Sperry, she says her partnership with Ward is just getting started:

    While it’s sad to see the two people responsible for the excellent Burnout series leave Criterion, they will most assuredly make some amazing games at their new outlet. We can only hope Criterion continues to make amazing games as well, even if Burnout doesn’t make a comeback.

    Image via GameNewsOfficial/YouTube

  • EA Opens New Development Studio, Ghost, in Sweden

    It may seem odd, but over the past few years Sweden has become quite a haven for game development studios. In addition to larger developers such as Starbreeze Stuidos (the developer of Syndicate and the Chronicles of Riddick games), indie studios from Sweden are gaining widespread mainstream attention for their addictive games. The most famous of these studios is undoubtedly Mojang, the developer behind the wildly popular Minecraft, though other studios, such as Frictional Games (the developer of the Amnesia series), have made a name for themselves with indie titles.

    It now appears that Sweden’s game development industry is set to grow even larger. EA has opened a new studio named Ghost Games in Sweden’s second largest city, Gothenburg. On the developer’s new website it claims that Gothenburg was chosen because of “the plethora of highly talented game developers that can be found in that part of Sweden and its southern regions.”

    There is no word yet on what titles EA expects Ghost to develop, though the website does mention that the company will be developing a AAA title. From the website:

    Founded on the core principles of Excellence, Fun and Respect, GHOST is working to create a world-class team of developers, an exceptional working environment and build the next big thing in AAA gaming.

    GHOST is a unique proposition in the AAA development space; all the agility and creativity of a ‘start-up’, while working with industry giants like Criterion and DICE guarantee we have the tools and support to execute our creative and technical visions.

    Being a new studio, Ghost is currently hiring for nearly every position a game studio might need, including creative director, gameplay designer, lead artist, and development director. The studio is trying to woo good employees by highlighting its open-plan office and stating that “a balance of work and play is core to the Ghost way of life.”

    (Image courtesy the Ghost Games website)