Burnout celebrates its 25th anniversary this November. Developed by Criterion Games and published by Acclaim, the original game stood out during the early PlayStation 2 era for its speed, aggressive driving and spectacular crashes, establishing one of the most important racing series of the 2000s.
The first Burnout used straightforward driving mechanics, but demanded constant attention to avoid traffic. Driving into oncoming lanes, drifting and narrowly passing other cars filled the turbo meter, encouraging players to take risks. Crashes cost time and positions, yet their visual impact—and the replay sequences that followed—made mistakes part of the game’s appeal.
The series also showcased Criterion’s RenderWare technology, a development tool used by several studios. The early Burnout games demonstrated detailed environments, heavy traffic, reflections and collisions while maintaining a strong sense of speed at 60 frames per second.
Burnout 2: Point of Impact, released in 2002, expanded almost every aspect of the original. Drifting became more important, turbo chains were easier to maintain and the game offered a wider range of events. Its biggest addition was Crash mode, which turned the accidents that had previously been a consequence of driving into a dedicated challenge focused on causing as much damage as possible.
Burnout 3: Takedown followed in 2004 and represented the series’ major breakthrough. Players could knock rival cars off the road, earning turbo and turning races into constant battles. The game also added online play and a more substantial single-player campaign. Its combination of speed, traffic and direct confrontations made it one of the franchise’s most remembered entries.
Electronic Arts announced its acquisition of Criterion in July 2004, including RenderWare and the studio’s brands. Burnout Revenge arrived in 2005 and expanded the aggressive driving formula by allowing players to hit certain traffic vehicles and use them against competitors. Heavy vehicles and oncoming traffic remained serious hazards.
Burnout Paradise introduced the series’ next major change in 2008. Instead of selecting individual circuits, players explored Paradise City and began events at its intersections. Races, pursuits, stunt challenges, shortcuts and billboards to smash were spread throughout the open world, while online play was integrated into the city. The game was later expanded with updates, motorcycles and the Big Surf Island expansion.
Paradise became a reference point for open-world racing, although some players preferred the traditional circuit structure and Crash mode. At the time, it was not apparent that the game would remain Burnout’s last major evolution for almost two decades. The series also received Crash! in 2011, a spin-off focused on creating accidents from an aerial perspective rather than continuing the main formula.
Criterion subsequently worked on Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, released in 2010, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted in 2012. The studio’s structure then changed further: much of its staff moved to Ghost Games in 2013, leaving Criterion with 17 employees. Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry left the company in 2014, and the remaining team later contributed to other productions, Need for Speed projects and Battlefield Studios.
Burnout Paradise Remastered arrived in 2018, followed by a Nintendo Switch version in 2020, but neither release led to a new main installment. As a result, Burnout Paradise remains the franchise’s latest principal game, 18 years after its release. That gap is more than twice the time the series needed to progress from the original Burnout to Paradise.
RenderWare also faded from widespread use as newer graphics engines became dominant from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 generation onward. The technology that had helped showcase Burnout in the early 2000s, like the series itself, was eventually left behind.
Sources: Vandal.