Back in December, five veterans of Criterion left the studio. Now, these five people have come together to form a brand new studio, Fuse Games (thanks GamesIndustry.biz)!
Fuse Games is currently made up of Studio General Manager Matt Webster, Head of Content Steve Uphill, Head of Technology Andrei Shires, Head of Operations Alan McDairmant and Head of Production Pete Lake.
All five hold senior positions at Criterion, and all members of the team have been with the studio for a decade or more. Matt Webster started at Criterion and EA in 1990, Pete Lake joined six years later, and so on.
Needless to say, some of the brightest minds at Criterion are now officially starting projects of their own.
According to Christopher Dring of GamesIndustry.biz, the team is currently looking for a new office in Guildford, UK, where it will adopt a hybrid working approach. The team apparently has some plans for its first game, which will be a triple-A release on PC and consoles.
As for what the game will bring, or whether it will bear any resemblance to Criterion’s famous title, the future is unknown. “We’ve tried other genres over the years, Battlefield, Battlefield … VR. We know what we’re good at, and now it’s pretty broad. Once we’ve settled on a genre, we want to Leading the genre,” shared Webster.
Consider how long it takes Matt Webster and co. While working at Criterion and EA, their departure was a surprise. After all, Webster was a key member of the team that created FIFA. When asked about it, Webster shared, “I love EA. I learned everything there. I celebrated a milestone birthday last summer, and — as I got older — I started Thinking about what’s next?”
“I’m glad I didn’t talk myself out of it this time,” Webster added. He then details how difficult it was to leave EA, and how much fun it was to start working with the team back in 1990. All in all, Webster spoke highly of his time at EA, if not more graciously. Although, he noted, “I’m looking forward to new experiences outside of it.”
Fuse Games head of content Steve Uphill also left EA after a decade with the publisher. Unlike Webster, however, he does have some experience forming his own independent studio.
“When I used to do this, I didn’t have the right people. For the first 6 or 12 months on the honeymoon, it was fine. But when you have to make games, it’s really about the people … This time, all the co-founders worked together for a long time. The team below us, the project lead, we have a lot of people there,” Uphill elaborated.
Uphill followed up: “I feel more confident than when I was doing this before.”
All in all, the founder and studio head of the newly formed Fuse Games seems to know what he’s doing. After all, these are the best in the business. We just hope they maintain the momentum and confidence as they develop and launch this AAA game.
I sincerely look forward to seeing what these people think and create. What do you think of the new studio? do you have hope Watch the full interview with Matt Webster and Steve Uphill on GamesIndustry.biz!
