Criterion Games staff reduced to 16 people

Two weeks ago, it was announced that Ghost Games (former EA Gothenburg) [url=http://forum.nfsunlimited.net/viewtopic.php?t=22330]was now in charge of developing Need For Speed games[/url], having taken that role from Criterion Games. Now, it is known that the UK developer behind the Burnout series and, more recently, Hot Pursuit 2010 and Most Wanted 2012, has been reduced to the small number of just 16 employees.

According to the creative director, Alex Ward, most of the employees (60 to 65) were moved to Ghost Games to help develop Need For Speed: Rivals, which is due to be released in November 2013 for the current generation of consoles, plus PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

It is not known if Criterion is developing any other game, even though just in April this year, Alex Ward said the studio was "moving away from racing games". However, it seems that despite the small number of employees, a closure of the studio is not happening. Asked on Twitter if Criterion Games now feels vulnerable, Ward said: "Not at all. We are backed by a huge and successful wider company, Electronic Arts."

What are your thoughts on this? Is Criterion Games really just temporarily helping Ghost Games, or is this the beginning of the end for the UK-based developer?