Burnout was originally created by Criterion Games primarily as a technical showcase for their proprietary 3D game engine, RenderWare, which would later power games like Grand Theft Auto III. ¹⁾

Before developing Burnout, the Criterion team's first attempt at showcasing their RenderWare engine was a futuristic skateboarding game called TrickStyle released in 1999. ²⁾

The first two Burnout games were not published by Electronic Arts; they were published by Acclaim Entertainment, prior to the company filing for bankruptcy in 2004. ³⁾

The original Burnout (2001) featured a literal on-screen heart rate monitor that would increase in tempo and beat faster as the player drove aggressively through oncoming traffic. ⁴⁾

Despite the series becoming famous for its vehicular destruction, the original Burnout did not feature a “Crash Mode.” It was strictly focused on high-speed, high-risk arcade racing. ⁵⁾

Burnout 2: Point of Impact (2002) was the first game in the series to introduce the iconic “Crash Mode,” rewarding players monetarily for causing massive, puzzle-like pile-ups at intersections. ⁶⁾

Crash Mode was inspired by the developers noticing that playtesters were having more fun deliberately watching the realistic slow-motion crashes in the first game than actually finishing the races. ⁷⁾

Burnout 2 featured a specific “Pursuit” mode where the player drove a police car and had to aggressively ram fleeing suspects until the criminal's health bar was completely depleted. ⁸⁾

While originally launched as a PlayStation 2 exclusive, Burnout 2 later received extended ports for the GameCube and Xbox, which featured additional “Developer's Cut” vehicles and crash junctions. ⁹⁾

Burnout 3: Takedown (2004) was the very first game released after Electronic Arts officially acquired Criterion Games and the Burnout IP for an estimated $48 million. ¹⁰⁾

This entry revolutionized the series by introducing “Takedowns,” allowing players to slam opponents into walls or traffic to permanently eliminate them from the current lap and earn maximum boost. ¹¹⁾

Burnout 3 added the “Crashbreaker” to Crash Mode, a feature that allowed players to manually detonate their wrecked car to catch nearby civilian vehicles in the resulting explosion. ¹²⁾

The in-game Crash FM radio host for Burnout 3 was voiced by real-life Los Angeles KROQ disc jockey Ted Stryker, who provided commentary between racing events. ¹³⁾

Due to technical and time constraints during development, Burnout 3 did not feature an online multiplayer option for its widely beloved Crash Mode. ¹⁴⁾

The game featured a collectible “Signature Takedown” photo album, rewarding players with special cars for crashing opponents into specific, unique environmental hazards like yachts or pillars. ¹⁵⁾

Burnout Revenge (2005) introduced “Traffic Checking,” a mechanic that allowed players to rear-end civilian vehicles traveling in the same direction and use them as high-speed projectiles against rivals. ¹⁶⁾

The game featured a “Revenge” system where opponents who previously took you down would be marked with a red arrow, and successfully taking them out would yield a much higher score. ¹⁷⁾

While initially a PS2 and Xbox title, Revenge was visually overhauled and released as a major graphics showcase title for the newly launched Xbox 360 in early 2006. ¹⁸⁾

To accommodate the new aggressive checking mechanics, tracks in Revenge were designed with massive verticality, featuring huge jumps, alternate routes, and wide multi-lane highways. ¹⁹⁾

Burnout Revenge was the very first game in the franchise to allow the use of the explosive “Crashbreaker” mechanic during actual racing events, not just in the dedicated Crash Mode. ²⁰⁾

Burnout Legends (2005) was released for the PSP and Nintendo DS, acting as a portable “greatest hits” compilation featuring recreated tracks and cars from the first three mainline games. ²¹⁾

Burnout Dominator (2007) is the only mainline game in the entire franchise that completely removed the dedicated “Crash Mode” from the event lineup. ²²⁾

Dominator brought back the “Burnout” chaining mechanic from Burnout 2, where players could constantly chain boost bars together by driving dangerously without crashing. ²³⁾

Burnout Dominator was not developed by the main Criterion Games team (who were busy building Paradise), but rather by an internal spin-off team at EA UK. ²⁴⁾

The Nintendo DS version of Burnout Legends is infamous for its poor technical performance and terrible reviews, currently holding an abysmal 38/100 on Metacritic. ²⁵⁾

Burnout Paradise (2008) completely abandoned the closed-track menu system of previous games in favor of seamless exploration and event discovery in the fully open-world “Paradise City.” ²⁶⁾

Replacing Stryker, the radio host in Burnout Paradise was DJ Atomika, voiced by Mark Hildreth, who also voiced the exact same character in EA's SSX snowboarding franchise. ²⁷⁾

Initially, Burnout Paradise notoriously did not have a “Restart Event” option; if a player failed a race, they had to physically drive all the way back across the map to the starting intersection to try again. ²⁸⁾

The highly requested “Restart” feature was finally added to the game via a massive free patch update in February 2009, significantly improving the quality of life for players. ²⁹⁾

The free “Bikes Pack” update introduced motorcycles to the series for the first time, along with dynamic day-night cycles, weather, and specialized time trials. ³⁰⁾

The game's largest premium DLC, “Big Surf Island,” added an entirely new district to the map specifically designed with massive ramps and vertical structures for extreme stunt runs. ³¹⁾

Burnout Paradise is the only game in the franchise to receive a modern remaster, released for the PS4 and Xbox One in 2018 (and later Nintendo Switch) by Stellar Entertainment. ³²⁾

In 2011, EA released Burnout Crash!, a bizarre, downloadable top-down spin-off that focused entirely on the puzzle-like destruction mechanics of the classic Crash Mode. ³³⁾

Following Paradise, Criterion Games was tasked by EA to take over the development of the Need for Speed franchise, effectively putting the Burnout series on an indefinite hiatus. ³⁴⁾

Criterion's 2012 reboot of Need for Speed: Most Wanted is heavily considered a spiritual sequel to Burnout Paradise due to its shared mechanics, open-world structure, and billboard-smashing collectibles. ³⁵⁾

In 2014, Criterion founders Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry officially left EA to form a new independent development studio called Three Fields Entertainment. ³⁶⁾

Three Fields Entertainment created Danger Zone in 2017, an indie spiritual successor that focused purely on recreating Burnout's iconic intersection crash physics. ³⁷⁾

In 2019, Alex Ward's team released Dangerous Driving, a closed-track arcade racer designed as a direct indie successor to the aggressive racing of Burnout 3: Takedown. ³⁸⁾

The asynchronous “Autolog” multiplayer tracking system that Criterion built for NFS: Hot Pursuit was actually originally prototyped as a feature for a canceled Burnout sequel. ³⁹⁾

Concept art and early prototypes existed for a true sequel to Burnout Paradise, which would have featured a gritty setting inspired by the rough, industrial streets of Eastern Europe. ⁴⁰⁾

Over its active lifespan, the Burnout franchise sold an estimated 15 million copies worldwide, making it one of the most successful arcade racing properties of the 2000s. ⁴¹⁾

The “Legendary Cars” DLC pack for Paradise featured the “Jansen 88 Special,” a direct homage to the Back to the Future DeLorean that could fold its wheels and actually hover. ⁴²⁾

Unlike Need for Speed, the Burnout series never used officially licensed cars, allowing the developers to utterly obliterate the vehicles without violating strict manufacturer brand guidelines. ⁴³⁾

As of 2026, it has been 15 years since the last wholly original entry in the franchise (Burnout Crash! in 2011), cementing it as one of Electronic Arts' most requested dormant IPs. ⁴⁴⁾