Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to remain within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started at EA in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years contributing to the iconic Burnout and Need for Speed franchises through Criterion, the studio EA acquired in 2004. Yet in early 2023, Webster, together with fellow Criterion alumni Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to leave the corporate behemoth and launch their own independent studio in the United Kingdom, Fuse Games. Fast‑forward a little over three years, and Fuse is on the brink of releasing its debut title, *Star Wars: Galactic Racer*, which will be published by the newly autonomous label Secret Mode.
The timing of *Galactic Racer* is noteworthy. The last Star Wars racing game, *Racer Revenge*, hit shelves in 2002, meaning the franchise has been absent from the genre for a full 24 years. In the intervening period, racing games have generally lost some of their mainstream shine.
Amazon recently scrapped a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for a new driving title called *Clutch*, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis explaining that the market simply didn’t seem to have room for it. Meanwhile, Criterion, once a powerhouse of arcade‑style racers, has pivoted away from the genre entirely to focus on the *Battlefield* series.
Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced that a market exists for a Star Wars‑themed racer. “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 judging by the response to our videos and articles, we’re definitely not alone.” He points out that gaming genres tend to be cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other types of games inevitably resurface. “As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches find a bigger audience,” Webster added. Webster believes players are hungry for experiences that are both fun and novel—something they haven’t encountered before.
He argues that *Galactic Racer* aims to deliver exactly that: a fresh spin on the racing formula that feels both familiar and exciting. The team deliberately embraced the instant‑gratification feel of classic arcade racers while also asking, “What could we do if we weren’t limited by tyres and tarmac?” The answer, according to Webster, includes tracks that climb the side of an active volcano and courses that feel more like roller‑coasters than traditional circuits.
Beyond the high‑octane thrills, *Galactic Racer* seeks to subvert long‑standing genre conventions. Most racing games have relied on a car‑collection model for the past two decades—a system Webster describes as “stale.” Instead, his studio is borrowing mechanics from other genres, especially roguelikes such as *Hades*, *Returnal* and *Slay the Spire*. Those games are built around infinite replayability and meaningful decision‑making, qualities that Webster believes mesh perfectly with racing’s inherent loop of “try, fail, improve.” One concrete example is how the game handles crashes. In many modern racers, a rewind button erases the consequences of a mistake, reducing tension.
Fuse wants to restore that sense of risk. “If you crash too many times you’re sent back to the start, but you keep some meta‑progression with you,” Webster explained. “When you’re on your last crash and the system is critical, you feel the weight of that decision and you start weighing risk versus reward.” This design choice pushes players to think strategically, rather than relying on safety nets. Releasing a new IP in a crowded calendar is a bold move, especially with heavyweight titles like *GTA 6* slated for November 19.
*Galactic Racer* is set to launch on October 6, giving it a modest runway before the blockbuster drops, yet still landing after other major releases such as *Control: Resonance* and *Silent Hill: Townfall* (both September 24). Webster acknowledges the crowded schedule but reminds us that the industry has weathered busier periods before.
“People used to call September ‘murderer’s row,’ and October was always packed,” he said. “We have a healthy confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things might turn out.” The conversation inevitably turned to the wave of layoffs sweeping the industry. Having spent over three decades in the business, Webster remembers a similar downsizing period fifteen years ago.
He sees a pattern: great teams create great games, and great games find audiences. Yet today, he observes a pervasive aversion to risk, which he believes creates opportunities for studios willing to take calculated bets.
“If you’re not willing to gamble a little, you limit your own chances,” he noted. Funding an independent studio in 2023 has not been easy.
Webster recalls hearing comments like, “You’re brave to start an indie studio now.” After thirty‑two years at EA, the transition was a steep learning curve. He leaned on principles he’d cultivated over his career: building a solid team, sharpening a creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning—while accepting that plans are always provisional. “Engaged, motivated talent produces great work, so it’s our job to keep them inspired,” he said. Fuse Games remains relatively small for a title of AAA ambition, employing roughly 75 people.
This size is intentional; the studio wants to avoid the typical “grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink” cycle that plagues many developers. Instead, Fuse relies heavily on external partners to fill skill gaps. The model blends pure outsourcing (transactional asset creation) with deep co‑development, where external studios attend daily stand‑ups, join Slack channels, and contribute directly to the codebase. Webster highlighted the UK’s mature game‑development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations, noting that today’s studios are more eager to work together than in the past when partnerships were often reluctant and transactional.
According to Webster, this hybrid approach proves that a AAA‑scale game can be delivered on a sustainable budget when a lean core team partners with trusted external groups that share the same values. The rapid development timeline of *Galactic Racer* underscores this point. Fuse launched in January 2023; three and a half years later they have built a studio, assembled a team, learned Unreal Engine 5 from scratch, and produced a full‑fledged game—all while maintaining a healthy, sustainable workflow.
Another striking aspect of Fuse’s journey is the infusion of fresh talent. Alongside the veteran Criterion crew, many younger developers have joined the project, including a producer who had never previously worked in games. Webster expressed genuine admiration for this new generation: “They’re smarter and more effective in many ways than I was at their age. We’ve actually seen greater success with our young talent than with some of the senior hires we’ve brought in.” He argues that seasoned developers often prefer working with peers who need little guidance, but that approach can stifle growth.
Nurturing younger staff, he believes, energizes both parties. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalise an internship program to continue attracting emerging talent, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue.
He cites Criterion’s successful intern pipelines as a model and acknowledges the cost of developing talent, emphasizing the need for realistic expectations. Reflecting on the era when the industry was flush with cash, Webster recalls how many successful developers received funding to spin off their own studios, only to discover how challenging independence truly is. He criticises the lingering myth of the “single creative visionary” as “fucking bullshit,” insisting that games are always collaborative endeavors. As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster remains cautiously optimistic.
The launch of *Star Wars: Galactic Racer* is just the beginning, and while the studio has ideas for future projects, he stresses the importance of flexibility for independent developers. “We’ll be talking to people about opportunities, we have a direction in mind, but we have to stay adaptable,” he concluded.