Criterion Software

Criterion Games

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Computer and video games Interactive entertainment
Founded	1993
Founder	Alex Ward Fiona Sperry
Headquarters	Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom
Key people	Matt Webster (General Manager and Executive Producer) Alan McDairmant (Director of Product Development) Steve Cuss (Senior Producer) Alex Mole (Technical Director)
Products	Chameleon RenderWare Burnout series (2001–11) Need for Speed series (2010–13) Star Wars Battlefront series (?–present)
Number of employees	25 (2014)
Parent	Electronic Arts
Website	Criterion Games

Criterion Games (officially called Criterion Software) is a British video game developer based in Guildford, Surrey that are best known for their work on the award-winning racing video game series Burnout and various Need for Speed games.

Criterion Software Ltd was created in 1993 to commercialise 3D graphics rendering technology. It was set up by David Lau-Kee and Adam Billyard within Canon's European Research Lab, before being spun out as a majority Canon-owned startup. Criterion Software was a technology company specialising in the development of the RenderWare family of middleware technology, including graphics, AI, audio and physics components. Originally Criterion Games was a division within Criterion Software, set up to develop games, using the Renderware engine, which would act as show cases as to what was possible with the platform. RenderWare is used in such games as Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which are developed by Rockstar North, and the successful Burnout series, developed in-house by Criterion Games.

In August 2004, Electronic Arts announced they had acquired Criterion Games and Criterion Software for a rumored GB£40 million, taking into account the purchase price and existing debt. This was followed by the release of Black, a first-person shooter set in Eastern Europe, to which they applied the action movie sensibilities characteristic of the Burnout series.