Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within Electronic Arts. He started at EA in 1990 and spent almost twenty years contributing to the iconic Burnout and Need for Speed franchises through Criterion, which EA acquired in 2004.
In early 2023, however, Webster teamed up with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant to launch an independent studio in the United Kingdom called Fuse Games. Three and a half years later the fledgling studio is poised to release its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, under the banner of the newly independent publisher Secret Mode. Galactic Racer arrives roughly 24 years after the last Star Wars‑themed racing game, 2002’s Racer Revenge, and it does so at a moment when the racing genre has largely slipped out of the mainstream spotlight. Amazon recently cancelled a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis remarking that the market simply didn’t have room for another racer.
Criterion itself has shifted focus away from racing, devoting its resources to the Battlefield series. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars‑styled racing experience. “We clearly see a demand for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “Our community feedback and view‑counts tell us we’re not the only ones who think that.” Webster points out that entertainment trends tend to be cyclical.
After a period dominated by shooters, other genres inevitably re‑emerge as players crave fresh, compelling experiences they haven’t encountered before. He believes Galactic Racer delivers exactly that: a novel blend of arcade‑style thrills and imaginative world‑building that pushes the boundaries of what a racing game can be when it isn’t confined to realistic roads and tires. “We wanted to capture the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also exploring what’s possible once you free yourself from the constraints of asphalt,” he explains. One of the game’s signature tracks, for instance, spirals up the side of an active volcano, delivering a roller‑coaster‑like sensation that would be impossible in a conventional street‑racing setting.
Beyond the visual spectacle, Fuse Games is deliberately subverting long‑standing racing conventions. Most racing titles rely on a static car‑collection model that has changed little in two decades. Webster says Galactic Racer throws that model out the window, borrowing mechanics from other genres to create a more dynamic experience. The game incorporates meaningful consequences for player actions, such as crashes.
In many modern racers, a rewind button nullifies any penalty, but Webster wants each mistake to matter. “If you crash too often you’re sent back to the start, but you retain a slice of meta‑progression that puts you in a stronger position the next run,” he notes. This risk‑reward loop is inspired by roguelike titles like Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire, which prioritize infinite replayability—a natural fit for a racing game that thrives on repeated runs. The consequence system forces players to weigh each decision, especially when they’re down to their final allowed crash.
“When you’re on the brink, you start to feel the tension of the risk you’re taking,” Webster says, highlighting how this design choice adds a layer of strategic depth rarely seen in the genre. Releasing the game on October 6 places it in a crowded calendar that also includes heavyweight launches such as Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall on September 24, and the highly anticipated GTA 6 slated for November 19. Webster acknowledges the competition but remains confident. He recalls past industry chatter about “Murderer’s Row” in September releases, noting that October has historically been packed as well.
“The market is competitive, but we have a healthy confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things could turn out,” he says. Webster also reflects on the broader industry climate, marked by waves of layoffs and a pervasive aversion to risk.
He argues that this risk‑averse environment actually creates openings for studios willing to take calculated bets. “Great teams make great games, and great games find an audience,” he observes, emphasizing that innovation often sprouts from daring decisions rather than playing it safe.
Funding an independent studio in 2023 has not been straightforward. Webster admits that many people questioned the wisdom of launching a new studio after three decades at EA. The solution, he says, lies in adhering to core principles: building a talented team, refining a clear creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning—while recognizing that plans will inevitably evolve. Engaged, motivated talent, whether senior or junior, is the engine that drives success.
Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core of about 75 people, a deliberate choice to avoid the typical “grow‑shrink‑grow” cycle that plagues many large studios. Instead, the studio leans on external partners for additional capacity. This hybrid model ranges from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full co‑development, where external studios join daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even the code base, effectively becoming extensions of the core team. Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations, noting that today’s external studios are eager to work on diverse projects rather than merely keeping the lights on.
The result, according to Webster, is a sustainable pathway to produce AAA‑level scope, scale and visual fidelity without the ballooning budgets traditionally associated with such ambitions. The rapid development timeline—starting Fuse in January 2023 and delivering a polished UE5‑based game in just three and a half years—demonstrates the viability of this approach. A notable aspect of the studio’s culture is its emphasis on youthful talent. Alongside the Criterion veterans, many of the team members are recent graduates, and one producer had never worked in games before joining the project.
“The young talent we’ve recruited is often smarter and more effective than I was at that age,” Webster says, expressing pride in the fresh perspectives they bring. He also critiques the industry’s lingering myth of the “lone creative visionary,” calling it “bullshit” and insisting that games are fundamentally collaborative endeavors. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to nurture the next generation of developers, though he cautions that the studio is still pre‑revenue and must balance ambition with financial reality. He believes that the lessons learned from Fuse’s hybrid model and its focus on risk‑taking will inform the studio’s future projects, whatever direction they may take.