Unannounced Need for Speed put on hold as layoffs hit EA UK studio

Electronic Art's Ghost Games studio in the UK, developer of the recently released Need for Speed: Rivals, was hit with layoffs this week, and an unannounced Need for Speed title it was working on has been put on hold.

According to a report by Polygon, EA let go of the contractors at the studio and offered full-time employees to either accept compensation, or to continue working from the office to support Dead Space developer Visceral.

Visceral is rumored to be working on a military shooter, who Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter previously suggested may become a brand extension for the Battlefield franchise. According the Polygon's report, this is a police-themed game code-named Havana, and is due out later this year.

Earlier this month we reported that Criterion Games founders Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry had left EA's Burnout and Need for Speed studio. Prior to their departure, Criterion Games was reduced to a headcount of 16 people, when most of its employees joined Ghost Games to work on Need for Speed: Rivals.