Despite the fact that Electronic Arts recently shifted most of its staffers at Criterion Games over to its Ghost Games studio, the company has now reportedly laid off a portion of the Ghost Games team. Criterion, best known for creating some of the best titles in the Burnout and Need for Speed franchises, saw its workforce reduced to a mere 17 people last September, as EA viewed to convert its relatively new Ghost Games studio into the new face of the Need for Speed series. However, after just a single Need for Speed release (Rivals), EA has already laid off staffers at the Guildford, UK branch of Ghost Games, according to a report from Polygon. The report suggests that EA has let go of all contractors at the UK offices, and notified the rest of the staff that they can either voluntarily leave with compensation, or support EA’s Visceral studio on its in-development title. Notably, the report also declares that a new in-development Need for Speed title has been put on hold while these layoffs are ongoing. Although EA did not confirm how many staff will be affected, the company stated that it has “entered a consultation period for some positions in our Ghost Games U.K. studio.” This restructuring comes just weeks after Fiona Sperry and Alex Ward, co-founders of Criterion Games, confirmed that they had left the company. Meanwhile, EA only just laid off staff at its Salt Lake studio days ago.
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