Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He arrived at the company in 1990 and spent almost twenty years contributing to the Burn out and Need for Speed franchises under Criterion, the studio EA acquired in 2004. Yet, at the start of 2023, Webster, together with fellow Criterion alumni Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to strike out on their own and launch the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Three and a half years later, that fledgling team is poised to ship its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, under the publishing banner of the newly autonomous Secret Mode.
Galactic Racer arrives roughly a quarter‑century after the last Star Wars‑themed racing game, 2002’s Racer Revenge, and it does so at a time when traditional racing titles have been losing steam. Amazon recently walked away from a publishing arrangement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving game Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis noting that the market didn’t seem to have a clear fit for the project.
Criterion itself has shifted focus away from pure racing, now pouring its expertise into the Battlefield franchise. Despite those signals, Webster is convinced there remains untapped demand. “Clearly we 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 to our videos and articles suggests we’re not alone.” He points out that entertainment genres tend to be cyclical.
“We went through a phase where shooters dominated, but that’s just one slice of the pie. As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger following.” What players, according to Webster, are craving are "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences they haven’t seen before," and he believes Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The studio set out to capture the instant‑gratification feel of an arcade racer while also asking, “What’s possible when you’re not limited by tyres and tarmac?” The answer, he says, includes tracks that climb the side of an active volcano, courses that feel more like roller‑coasters than conventional circuits, and other physics‑defying flourishes.
Beyond the high‑octane thrills, Galactic Racer deliberately subverts long‑standing racing conventions. Traditionally, racing games revolve around a persistent car‑collection mechanic—a formula that has stayed largely unchanged for two decades. Webster wants to tear that away and "steal from other genres." The game’s core loop centers on meaningful decision‑making, especially around crashes.
In most racers, a rewind button nullifies the consequences of a mistake; Galactic Racer reinstates stakes by penalising repeated crashes, sending the player back to the start while still preserving a sliver of meta‑progression that puts them in a slightly stronger position. This risk‑reward tension, he says, pushes players to weigh the danger of a daring maneuver against the cost of failure. The design philosophy draws heavily from the roguelike playbooks of titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire—games built for infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability," Webster notes, "so marrying it with roguelike loops feels like a match made in heaven." Each run offers a fresh arrangement of hazards, power‑ups and shortcuts, encouraging players to refine strategies over countless attempts.
Launching the game on October 6 positions it a comfortable distance from the anticipated GTA 6 release on November 19, yet still lands amid a busy fall schedule that includes heavyweights like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall (both September 24). Webster acknowledges the crowded calendar but remains unfazed. “September has always been busy—back in the day we called it ‘Murderer’s Row.’ October is packed too. We just have a healthy confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things might unfold.” His perspective on confidence is informed by a broader industry context marked by layoffs and a growing aversion to risk.
Having witnessed a wave of cuts a decade and a half ago, Webster believes that “great teams make great games, and great games find an audience.” He argues that the industry’s risk‑averse climate actually opens doors for those willing to take calculated bets, while excessive caution can stifle innovation. Funding, however, has not been a free‑ride. Starting an independent studio in 2023, especially after a 32‑year tenure at EA, was a bold move that attracted skepticism.
Webster recounts hearing, “You’re brave doing an indie studio now.” The solution, he says, lies in adhering to core principles: building a talented, motivated team; sharpening a creative vision; and maintaining disciplined planning while remaining adaptable. “The plan is always wrong, but it’s the best version you have today,” he explains, emphasizing iterative refinement and staying true to values. Fuse Games deliberately keeps its core staff small—about 75 people—for a project of AAA scope.
Rather than the traditional "grow‑shrink‑grow" staffing pattern, the studio leans on external partners to fill skill gaps. This hybrid model ranges from transactional outsourcing for specific assets to deep co‑development where outside studios attend daily stand‑ups, join Slack channels, and share codebases. The UK’s mature development ecosystem, Webster notes, makes such collaboration smoother, as companies are now eager to work across multiple projects and keep their talent fresh. Webster believes this approach can deliver AAA‑level scope, scale and visual fidelity on a sustainable budget.
The rapid timeline of Galactic Racer—conceptualised in January 2023 and ready for launch a little over three years later—demonstrates the viability of the model. "We built a studio, a team, and a UE5‑based game none of us had previously mastered, and we did it healthily and sustainably," he says.
An unexpected advantage of the small‑core strategy is the infusion of youthful energy. Alongside the Criterion veterans, Fuse has hired many younger developers, even a producer with no prior gaming experience. "The young talent we have is smarter and more effective in many ways than I was at that age," Webster marvels.
He observes that seasoned developers often prefer senior colleagues who require minimal mentorship, but fostering and mentoring younger staff can be equally rewarding for both parties. This insight has already reshaped the studio’s hiring priorities. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalise an internship program to nurture fresh talent, though he cautions that the studio is still pre‑revenue and must manage costs carefully. He reflects on a bygone era when successful games generated enough cash for developers to spin off their own studios, a path that proved harder than expected.
"Money should go to great teams, not to the myth of a singular creative visionary," he asserts, calling the notion of a lone auteur "bullshit". In his view, games are collaborative creations. As for Fuse’s next steps, the future remains fluid. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the opening act, and the studio is already exploring potential opportunities and ideas.
Yet, as an independent entity, flexibility and adaptability will continue to be essential. Webster sums it up: "Good games will find a way, and we’re hoping ours does too."