Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter had an interesting speculation in his latest industry note. The man believes that Criterion Games – well known for their work on Need for Speed and Burnout – is currently working on a military-based first person shooter for Electronic Arts. He also believes it could be part of the Battlefield franchise, not buying that Battlefield 5 will release after the 2015 fiscal year for EA.
“We believe this speculation is unfounded. Although EA has as yet to announce a Battlefield extension for FY15, we believe Criterion Games is working on a military shooter that may become a brand extension for the Battlefield franchise in FY15.
“We spoke with management on Thursday afternoon, and although they have not yet announced a version of Battlefield for FY15, they confirmed that our understanding is spot on and that if a version of Battlefield were to be released in FY15, it would be developed by a studio other than DICE.”
Considering that Criterion is no longer working on the NFS franchise and has experience with first person shooters (Black, anyone?). Whether it’s a Battlefield game or not remains to be seen though.