UPDATE: Alex Ward, creative director at Criterion, Tweets: "Totatly fake. Remakes and Reboots? #movedon"
Original Story:
Criterion's next stab at the "Need for Speed' franchise may be the one fans have been waiting for. The oft-hailed "Need for Speed: Underground" and "Need for Speed: Underground 2" games were begging for a sequel. Instead, a reboot may be on its way.
EGM received a promotional banner for "Need for Speed: Underground" from an anonymous source, mirroring the same minimalist style of previous Criterion reboots of the franchise. Unlike the "Need for Speed: Most Wanted" and "Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit" games, however, the alleged "Underground" logo is a dark blue and features well-known city landmarks such as Big Ben and the Coliseum.
Though recently recruited for EA's "Need for Speed" franchise, Criterion Games is best known for its "Burnout" series, which saw its last core release in "Burnout: Paradise," an open-world racer often cited as inspiration for their recent "Need for Speed: Most Wanted." It should follow that Criterion would reboot the "Underground" series, considering its both the most-requested game from the "Need for Speed" franchise and "Underground 2" featured an open-world "explore" mode, which is right up Criterion's alley.
They'll have to up their game, however, as the "Burnout" studio has never been too keen on offering much in the way of vehicular customization, a hallmark and expected feature in any "Underground" game. "Most Wanted" featured light, almost inconsequential customization.
