The Need for Speed series has a long and storied history, dating back the time games first started appearing on CDs. In recent years though the series has found itself in a state of confusion, thanks to a string of lackluster releases. But with a new entry out this year (reportedly) series veterans Criterion and racing gurus Codemasters are teaming up to bring the series back.

Criterion of course was also behind the brilliant Burnout series. As per the announcement Criterion Games and Codemasters Cheshire are forming a singular Criterion studio, to "create the future of Need for Speed".

We can confirm Criterion Games and the development team at Codemasters Cheshire are officially coming together to create the future of @NeedforSpeed, forming one Criterion studio with two location hubs. [1/3]

— Codemasters (@Codemasters) May 12, 2022

Coming from the official Codemasters account, it sounds like this came about organically as the two studios began collaborating on the new Need for Speed game. "This integration builds off the close partnership the two studios have developed over the past few months, sharing common values and similar cultures, we strongly believe unifying the huge wealth of expertise across both teams will help us to deliver the best racing experiences we can for our players."

With Summer Games Fest coming up odds are we'll see and hear more about the next installment in the Need for Speed series soon. The most recent entry, Need for Speed Heat (2019), was developed by Ghost Games. And sure, it was fine and fun to play, but we're now in the Forza Horizon age - so expectations are high.