It's been nearly a year since the rumors, but now it's official. Criterion Games, the UK developer behind the testosterone-fueled Burnout series, is in the middle of development for the next entry in the Need for Speed series.

EA Games President Frank Gibeau explained, "In recent years, we failed to put adequate resources behind the franchise and, as a result, quality suffered.

"Next year's Need for Speed has been under development now for some time at our award-winning Criterion Studio."

Presumably this means we won't be seeing a new Burnout title any time soon. The Need for Speed and Burnout franchises have always targeted different demographics, with NFS usually going for grittier, real-world settings and Burnout a loose, arcadey crash-fest.

With NFS: Shift's successful foray into the simulation arena, maybe EA is trying to appeal to fans of the gritty and the arcadey in this new effort due out in 2010.