Five Criterion veterans left the studio after the release of Need for Speed Unbound

Matt Webster, vice president and general manager of Criterion Games, has left the studio. Webster has worked at Criterion for over 23 years, and has worked for Electronic Arts in total since 1990.

The veteran developer was once a member of the original team responsible for creating the very first part of the FIFA football simulator.

Also, executive producer Pete Lake quit the studio, who got a job at Criterion in 1996 as an artist.

The example of Webster and Lake was followed by Andrey Shires, a senior technical director with 16 years of experience, Alan Mcdarman, the head of the development department, who has 17 years in the studio, and Steve Uphill, the head of the content department, who left his post after 10 years in the company.

It is reported that all five left Criterion to "explore new work opportunities outside of EA."

Coincidence or not, it happened right after the release of the Need for Speed: Unbound race, which was released at the end of November.

Need for Speed: Unbound was quite warmly received by both players and the press. At the end of three weeks of arrival on Steam, the game has "mostly positive" reviews with 73% approval.

On OpenCritic, the average score was 76 points, which is the second best result in the series since NFS Rivals 2013.