If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Criterion hiring for open world racer

And work on "new platforms".

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit developer Criterion Games is looking for staff to work on an open world racing game.

A job listing, spotted by VideoGamer, asks for an AI programmer. "Our current ambition requires an innovative programmer to deliver killer entertainment experiences with believable, open world AI Racing Drivers," it says.

Given EA's Call of Duty-style strategy to alternate Need for Speed development duties between Criterion and EA Black Box, which is making this November's game, the job ad suggests November 2012's NFS will be an open world game.

Criterion's own Burnout Paradise, released in 2008, was an open world racing game.

Meanwhile, Criterion is also after a lead software engineer to help bring its new games to "new platforms". Wii U? Vita? Or the next generation of home consoles?

Last month Eurogamer investigated the next generation, delving into the new Xbox and PlayStation 4.

Microsoft is rumoured to be preparing a reveal of its next Xbox at E3 2012. Eurogamer recently had this claim backed up by a number of game industry sources.

Eurogamer has also heard a 2014 release of the next Xbox was planned by Microsoft, but this has now been brought forward to 2013 as a result of Nintendo's confirmed 2012 launch of the Wii U.

Additionally, sources have indicated to us that larger publishers and developers already have target specs of both the next Xbox and PlayStation to help them with their development.