Criterion and Bright Light unaffected by publisher's cut-backs, say insiders
While rumours and reports continue to swirl about the publisher's restructuring, insiders at Electronic Arts' UK studios have told Develop that their teams are safe.
Guildford-based studios Bright Light (casual and family games) and Criterion (developer of Burnout) will not see redundancies, despite the latest wave of cut-backs.
Representatives from both studios have told us that they will not be affected by the latest lay offs, which is seeing up to 1,000 staff dropped from the publisher/developer's vast operation.
That's in a stark contrast to what's going on at the likes of Black Box and Tiburon - developers of the publisher's flagship titles such as Need For Speed and Madden, which have both dropped staff this week. EA Mythic also laid off some QA staff.
Those studios have cut back ahead of reorganisational plans that were announced just before Christmas and will be detailed when EA discusses its third-quater financial at the start of February.
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That's a real shame. I can think of at least one individual at the UK studio who should be laid off. The Mental Ward for example...
Keep in mind that in this case, general attrition has minimized the need for redundancies. I heard Criterion's entire art & sound teams walked out the door shortly after Burnout Paradise shipped, which works for EA's final numbers, even if they were chased out the door by some ****** with ("a-hunh") terrett syndrome. The question that remains is can they make a decent game without their artistic talent?
'tis true that there's pretty much nobody from Criterion left there anymore.
Fact is that EA laid off a load of staff at Christmas last year right after Paradise completed. Didn't make the news because all attention was on EA closing their Chicago office down at the time.
Since then loads more have walked away from the place which became a horrible environment to work. Now there's hardly anybody from the original team left there any more and really it's just the name and reputation that survive.
Shame as Criterion was a great place that made some excellent games. After EA took over though it rapidly went downhill.
The above comments are very true.
There are only a handful of people left from the original Burnout team.
Criterion has a terrible attrition rate and I believe is now down to under 60 staff from something like 130/140 during the development of Paradise.
Not a good way to treat employees when you bust a gut helping the company ship the title and your made redundant just before it ships.
I've heard there is practically no audio team there anymore
With them either leaving or being made redundant.
I had also heard the art team walked out en masse
A great deal of talent left Criterion, they deserve every success in their new venture, they are names of the future.
The rest of the guys left there are putting a brave face on it. I bet the two at the top would have left ages ago if their vested shares had been worth anything. I call it Karma.
A number for splinter studios have started up in Guildford.
"A great deal of talent left Criterion, they deserve every success in their new venture, they are names of the future."
Absofrickinlutely!
While things at Criterion did change for the worse after EA took over, I’d wouldn’t say that it was EA’s business model or culture that ruined it for Criterion. After the acquisition, the studio head from Criterion proudly proclaimed that it was in fact a “reverse takeover”; RenderWare was forced upon other studios, which was a monolithic mess, the upper management from Criterion took over the running of entire the UK studio and treated the other teams as second-class citizens, and Criterion themselves were given a carte blanche to throw away $50M on the Burnout franchise. I’d say that it was the arrogance and hubris of the Criterion management that have led them into this state, not EA.
I’d be the last to defend certain managers from Criterion - their egos and rise up to senior positions within EA certainly changed them - or maybe it just brought out more of what had been there all along? But to absolve EA from any blame of Criterions steady decline is ridiculous. Managers from EAUK were brought in and new hires appointed to management positions who certainly came along and changed things for the worse.
I read the 'reverse takeover' comment too - from a reporter who in an interview stated that it seemed like Criterion had taken over EAUK rather than the other way around (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/i_alexward_criterion?page=2)" onclick="window.open ( this.href ); return false;" class="comment_url" >http://www.eurogam...ge=2) - the person they were interviewing was non-committal. I’ve never actually heard it 'proudly proclaimed' by anyone that Criterion had taken over EAUK and for the Criterion staff it certainly felt as if EA had been the ones doing the taking over.
Can't comment on what state Renderware was in - but it was used in many games last gen so it can't have been all bad. In fact that's one of the reason why EA bought Criterion (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/focus-ea-sets-the-criterion)" onclick="window.open ( this.href ); return false;" class="comment_url" >http://www.gamesin...rion) as the EA executive vice president at the time says. As if a small outfit like Criterion could get EA to buy them up and then make Renderware be 'forced upon other studios' within EA ...haha... that's just ludicrous. It was EA themselves who bought Renderware to "combine it with our EA technology" as they said at the time. Chatting to people on Renderware about what had happened to it I heard it was rolled out to studios before the new version was ready - a situation forced on them by their new managers. I’d say that that is the fault of the EA ‘business model’ at the time.
The upper Criterion management AND the EA managers brought in pretty much treated everyone like dirt, EA and Criterion staff alike. Can’t say how much was wasted on the Burnout franchise but I do know it was some 10 months late in shipping Paradise. The decisions that led to it being late, work having to be re-done and tools not working were a result of bad management and EA have to take as much blame as anyone as it was there managers making some of those decisions.
I agree, there is a lot of arrogance in some people now high up at EAUK who were once at Criterion but there are just as many arrogant and egotistical people who came in from EA itself that have made management decisions that have resulted in Criterion falling to the sorry state it’s in now.
