“As we’ve said before, we’re all-in on Battlefield. Today, Criterion is added to our world-class Battlefield studios dedicated to ushering in a new era for the franchise.” Most of the team will work with Ripple Effect, Ridgeline and DICE, led by Battlefield general manager Byron Beede.

“Criterion’s experience with Battlefield, our technology and building engaging experiences will have an immediate positive impact as we continue to work on Battlefield 2042, and as we continue pre-production on a connected Battlefield Universe. There is no better studio to join us on this journey, and I couldn’t be more excited.”

Those hoping for a new Need for Speed or the rumored remake of Need for Speed: Most Wanted won’t have to fret. Zampella says that work continues on “what’s next for Need for Speed.” “Many of you might be familiar with my history in games, having worked with extremely talented teams on Apex Legends, Titanfall, and Star Wars Jedi here at Electronic Arts.

“But you might not know I have a passion for cars, which also makes Criterion a perfect match for me to explore another genre in gaming that I love. I’m looking forward to working with a core group as we shape what’s next for the franchise.” Given the mixed response to Need for Speed Unbound, it should be interesting to see what Zampella has in store for the racing series.

Of course, when there will be an announcement about either franchise remains to be seen. Criterion is no stranger to Battlefield, having worked on Firestorm, Battlefield 5’s battle royale mode, and vehicular gameplay in Battlefield 2042. It was assigned to EA Sports before shifting to EA Entertainment for Battlefield under Beede and Zampella. Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime.

The video shows off footage described as pre-pre-alpha gameplay, and showcases a variety of skateboarding tricks, insane jumps, and even gives us a glimpse at the potential of things we can do off the skateboard, like swinging across on monkey bars.

Skate is currently deep in development, and even this latest video shows us that assets are nowhere near ready, with several ramps and half-pipes featuring flat colours instead of being fully textured. Back in May, EA revealed that it doesn’t expect Skate to come out before April 2024.

Full Circle has been quite transparent about the development of Skate, releasing periodic updates on the title’s development progress. Back in April, the studio revealed that it plans on bringing the Skate insider playtest to consoles later this year.

Skate is slated for release on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Aside from Wilson himself, EA Entertainment will be headed up by Laura Miele, who previously served as the company’s COO, now taking on the position of EA President of Entertainment, Technology, and Central Development. Miele will work with various studios and executives like Vince Zampella on future projects.

EA Sports will continue to be headed up by Cam Weber, who stepped into the executive position after a history of working on EA’s Madden series of American football games. Both companies will ultimately be headed up by Wilson serving as CEO.

EA Sports is currently getting ready for what is likely going to be one of the biggest releases of the year with EA Sports FC. The game has seen a teaser trailer released for it back in April, and is slated to have more details revealed some time in July.