Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry are departing Criterion Games, the racing-oriented developer (Burnout series, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Need for Speed: Most Wanted) they helped cofound, reports Polygon, where they have a statement about the change from Electronic Arts. "Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry have decided to leave EA," an EA spokesperson told them. "We appreciate their many contributions through the years and wish them well in their future endeavours." The EA statement also mentions that Criterion continues to develop a new IP for next-generation consoles, and the Criterion Games website has a new year message saying they're "cooking up something new." Following the original report, Alex Ward tweeted about plans for a new company, saying: "Just decided to start afresh and form a new games company with @FionaSperry #freshstart."