Matt Webster seemed destined for a lifelong career at Electronic Arts. He started with the company in 1990 and spent almost twenty years contributing to Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed, which 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 the independent UK studio Fuse Games.
Three and a half years later the studio stands on the brink of releasing 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 time when traditional racing games have lost some of their mainstream appeal.
Amazon recently cancelled a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for the upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis noting that the market didn’t seem to fit the product. Meanwhile, Criterion itself has shifted focus away from racing toward the Battlefield franchise.
Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still demand. “We clearly see an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz.
“Our community of viewers and readers tells us we’re not alone in that belief.” He points out that genres tend to be cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other types of games inevitably regain popularity as the player base widens. “The more people play video games, the larger the audience becomes for even the tiniest niches,” Webster said. He believes gamers are hungry for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences they haven’t seen before," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that.
Fuse’s design philosophy embraces the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also asking, “What can we do when we’re no longer bound by tyres and tarmac?” The answer, according to Webster, is to push the action into fantastical realms – tracks that climb the side of an active volcano, courses that feel like roller‑coasters, and environments that would be impossible in a realistic simulation. Beyond the high‑octane thrills, the game deliberately subverts long‑standing racing conventions.
Traditional titles have relied on a car‑collection model for two decades; Galactic Racer throws that away and borrows mechanics from other genres. One of the most radical changes is the introduction of meaningful consequences for mistakes. In many modern racers, a rewind button erases the impact of a crash, but Webster wants crashes to matter. “If you crash too often you’re sent back to the start, but you keep some meta‑progression that puts you in a stronger position,” he explained.
This risk‑reward loop is inspired by roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire, games built around infinite replayability. Racing, he argues, is a natural partner for that philosophy because the genre thrives on repeated runs and incremental improvement.
The timing of the launch is also strategic. Galactic Racer is slated for October 6, comfortably ahead of the highly anticipated GTA 6 release on November 19, yet close enough to ride the wave of other major September releases like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall.
Webster acknowledges the crowded pre‑Christmas window but notes that the industry has weathered busier periods before. “I remember the ‘Murderers’ Row’ era when October was jam‑packed with big titles,” he recalled, adding that Fuse approaches the market with a “healthy sense of confidence” tempered by realism. When discussing the broader industry climate, Webster reflects on the wave of layoffs that has swept through studios. He draws a parallel to the layoffs of the mid‑2010s, emphasizing that great teams create great games, and great games find audiences.
He sees the current risk‑averse environment as an opening for studios willing to take calculated bets. “If you’re not willing to risk, you limit opportunity,” he warned.
Funding a new independent studio in 2023 has not been easy. Webster describes the skepticism he faced when announcing Fuse, noting that many questioned the wisdom of starting a studio after a 32‑year tenure at EA. His answer was to lean on core principles: assemble a talented team, sharpen a creative vision, and maintain disciplined planning while staying flexible enough to adapt. He stresses that an engaged, motivated crew is the engine of innovation.
Fuse’s team is deliberately lean for a AAA‑scale project—about 75 people—because the studio wants to avoid the typical “grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink” cycle. Instead, they rely heavily on external development partners. Smaller core teams handle direction and design, while trusted external studios fill gaps through both transactional outsourcing and deeper co‑development, where partners attend daily stand‑ups, join Slack channels, and contribute directly to the codebase.
Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations, noting a cultural shift from reluctant assistance to enthusiastic partnership. Webster believes this hybrid model can deliver AAA‑level scope, scale and visual fidelity on a sustainable budget.
The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer—just three and a half years from Fuse’s founding to a finished UE5 product—demonstrates the model’s viability. He is especially proud of the infusion of young talent; many of the developers, including a producer with no prior gaming experience, have outperformed expectations. “Our younger staff are often smarter and more effective than I was at their age,” he said, adding that nurturing fresh talent has proven more successful than relying solely on seasoned veterans.
Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to continue cultivating emerging developers, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue. He cites Criterion’s successful intern pipeline as a blueprint and acknowledges the cost of developing talent but views it as an investment in the studio’s long‑term health. Reflecting on the era when abundant funding allowed successful teams to spin off their own studios, Webster laments that many of those ventures underestimated the challenges of independence.
He argues that money should have been directed toward strong teams rather than singular “creative visionaries,” a notion he calls “bullshit.” In his view, games are always collaborative endeavors. As for Fuse’s next steps, the future remains fluid.
The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and while the studio has ideas for subsequent projects, Webster stresses the need for flexibility and adaptability in today’s independent development landscape.