Ex-Criterion Devs Form a New AAA Studio, Fuse Games

Last December five long-serving members of EA's Criterion left the company with the aim to "explore new opportunities outside of EA". And now, it turns out they have formed an all-new studio called Fuse Games that will focus on creating "premium genre-leading interactive entertainment for PC and console."

Fuse Games, which is currently consisting of 17 employees, has been established in Guildford, UK by a team of executives including Matt Webster, Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires, and Alan McDairmant who respectively hold positions as studio general manager, head of content, head of production, head of technology, and head of operations.

The team behind Fuse has a long history of collaboration, having worked together for nearly 20 years. During this time, they have contributed to the success of popular franchises such as Burnout, Battlefield, Star Wars: Battlefront, and Need for Speed. Their recent work on the Need for Speed series includes Need for Speed Heat and the recently-released Need for Speed Unbound.

According to GamesIndustry.biz, Fuse Games is currently searching for a new office location in Guildford, where it plans to adopt a hybrid-working model. The team has already begun planning its debut project, a triple-A game for PC and consoles, however, the genre of this game is not yet disclosed.

The studio's GM Matt Webster noted that Fuse Games aims to scale up and "make games quickly and healthily."

"If games take two or three years to make, then there's only a limited number we can make in our lifespan. If we keep making five to seven-year opuses, we can only make a few. And I want to make as many as I can," Webster shared.

You can learn more about the new studio here. Also, don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.