In 2011, EA assigned the Need for Speed series to Criterion, which were based on more technical driving. Around 2013, EA opted to shift Need for Speed to Ghost Games, and later moved about 80% of the developers at Criterion permanently to Ghost Games, though Criterion still had a consulting role in development.[1] Neither Ward or Sperry were fond of this direction nor the corporate nature under EA; Ward said "We wanted to get back to having fun making games...This is the game business, not the work business."[2] In November 2013, Ward, Sperry, and Paul Ross, one of the developers for Criterion, decided to leave the studio to start anew, though had to wait out for their contracts to expire, in January 2014, before starting any new venture.[2]