According to a report, “head of studio development Alan McDairmant, head of content Steve Uphill, and senior technical director Andrei Shires” have all departed Electronic Arts to “explore other opportunities outside of EA.”
Everyone left has been with Criterion for over a decade, and Matt Webster has been with EA for over 23.
After these departures, David Rutter, the general manager of EA’s racing group, revealed that Charity Joy would join the Need for Speed team as executive producer. In this capacity, Joy brings experience working on the UFC franchise for EA Sports.
Moreover, Geoff Smith, formerly the director of both the Dirt and Grid games at Codemasters, has been promoted to senior director of Product Development for Need for Speed. Until the spring, he will report directly to Joy and be in charge of EA’s WRC game. Both will report to Steve Cuss, Criterion’s chief of studio operations.
