Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within Electronic Arts. He started at the company in 1990 and spent almost twenty years developing titles for the Criterion studio, the team behind Burnout and Need for Speed that EA acquired in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster teamed up with fellow Criterion alumni—Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant—to launch a new independent studio in the United Kingdom called Fuse Games.
Just over three years later the fledgling studio is poised to ship 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 traditional racing games have struggled to maintain mainstream appeal. Recent industry news underscores the shift: Amazon cancelled a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis explaining that the market simply didn’t have room for another racer. Criterion itself has pivoted away from pure racing projects to focus on the Battlefield franchise.
Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a viable audience for a Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly think there’s an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “We’re not the only ones who feel that way, and the reaction we get from people watching our videos and reading our articles suggests we’re not alone.” He adds that gaming trends are cyclical. “Genres rise and fall.
We went through a phase where shooters dominated, but that’s not the whole story. As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger fan base.” According to Webster, modern players crave fresh, compelling experiences that they haven’t seen before, and he believes Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The team set out to capture the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also asking, “What can we do once we’re no longer bound by tyres and tarmac?” The answer, he says, includes wildly imaginative tracks such as routes that climb the side of an active volcano, turning a race into a roller‑coaster‑like thrill ride. Beyond the spectacle, Fuse is deliberately breaking long‑standing genre conventions.
Most racing games have relied on a car‑collection model for the past two decades, a formula Webster wants to discard. “Let’s rip that up and borrow mechanics from other genres,” he explains. One such borrowing comes from roguelike titles like Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire, which emphasize infinite replayability and meaningful consequences.
In Galactic Racer, crashes are no longer just a momentary setback; they carry weight. If a player crashes too often, they are sent back to the start of a run, though they retain some meta‑progression that makes the next attempt slightly stronger.
This risk‑reward loop forces players to consider each maneuver carefully, re‑introducing consequence into a genre that has often been softened by rewind features. Webster acknowledges that this design philosophy is a bold departure from the hand‑holding typical of many AAA releases, but he sees it as essential for standing out in a crowded market, especially in a year when Rockstar’s GTA VI is slated for a November 19 launch. Galactic Racer’s release date—October 6—places it comfortably before GTA VI while still landing after other high‑profile launches such as Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall on September 24. “September always looks busy,” Webster notes, recalling the industry’s historic “murderer’s row” of releases.
“October has been packed before, too. We’re confident, but we keep a realistic view of how things might turn out.” The conversation turns to the broader industry climate, particularly the wave of layoffs that has swept through many studios. Webster, who has witnessed a similar contraction about fifteen years ago, believes that great teams still produce great games, and great games find their audiences. He argues that the current risk‑averse environment actually opens doors for studios willing to take calculated bets.
“When you avoid risk, you limit opportunity,” he says. “Those who are willing to push boundaries can capture the space left behind.” Launching an independent studio in 2023 has not been without challenges. Securing funding proved difficult; many investors questioned the wisdom of starting a new studio at a time when the market felt uncertain.
Webster reflects on his 32‑year tenure at EA, describing the transition as moving from a bubble into uncharted territory. He emphasizes a set of principles that guided Fuse: assembling a talented team, honing a clear creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning while staying flexible enough to adapt when the plan proves wrong.
Fuse’s core team remains relatively small—around 75 people—for a project of AAA scope. This size is intentional. Rather than expanding and contracting the internal staff repeatedly, Fuse relies heavily on external development partners to fill skill gaps.
The studio distinguishes between pure outsourcing, which is more transactional and asset‑focused, and co‑development, where external studios become an extension of the internal team, participating in daily stand‑ups, Slack channels and even sharing the code base. Webster highlights the United Kingdom as an especially fertile ground for such collaborations, citing a mature game‑development ecosystem where companies are eager to work across multiple projects and keep their talent motivated. Webster believes this hybrid model—small permanent core plus trusted external partners—could become a blueprint for sustainable AAA production.
It allows a studio to maintain high quality and scope while keeping budgets manageable. The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer illustrates the model’s effectiveness: Fuse was founded in January 2023, and three and a half years later the team had built a studio, assembled a team, learned Unreal Engine 5 from scratch, and delivered a full‑scale game.
Another noteworthy aspect of Fuse’s approach is its emphasis on youthful talent. Alongside the veteran Criterion alumni, the studio has hired many younger developers, even bringing in a producer with no prior game‑development experience.
Webster praises this infusion of fresh perspectives, stating that the younger staff often outperform older colleagues in both creativity and efficiency. He observes that seasoned developers sometimes prefer to work with peers who require minimal mentorship, which can stifle growth. By nurturing younger talent, Fuse creates a more dynamic and motivated environment.
Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to further cultivate emerging talent, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue and must be cautious with resources. He references Criterion’s successful intern pipelines as a model, acknowledging that developing talent incurs costs but can pay dividends in the long run. Reflecting on a period five or six years ago when the industry enjoyed abundant capital, Webster recalls how many successful developers were given the chance to spin off their own studios, only to discover the reality was far tougher than anticipated.
He criticizes the industry’s lingering fascination with the “single creative visionary” myth, calling it “bullshit.” In his view, games are collaborative endeavors, and the focus should be on strong teams rather than glorified individuals. As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster admits the future is still being shaped. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and the studio remains open to new opportunities and ideas. He emphasizes flexibility and adaptability as essential traits for independent developers navigating today’s volatile market.
In summary, Matt Webster’s journey—from a long‑standing EA veteran to founder of an agile, youth‑driven studio—illustrates a broader shift in the gaming industry. By reimagining racing conventions, embracing a hybrid development model, and championing the power of diverse, collaborative teams, Fuse Games aims to prove that even niche genres can thrive when they tap into the ever‑expanding pool of gamers worldwide.