Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within Electronic Arts’ walls. He started at EA in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years collaborating with Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed, which EA acquired in 2004.
In early 2023, however, Webster, together with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to strike out on their own, founding the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Just over three years later the fledgling studio is poised to launch 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 the racing genre has generally lost some of its mainstream shine.
Amazon recently walked away from 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 seem to need another racer. Criterion itself has largely pivoted away from pure racing, devoting its recent efforts to the Battlefield franchise.
Despite those signals, Webster remains convinced there is a viable audience for a Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly think there’s a market 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 genres tend to be cyclical.
“We went through a phase where shooters dominated, but that’s just one part of the picture. As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a broader audience.” What Webster believes players are craving are "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences they haven’t seen before," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The team set out to capture the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also asking, "What could we do if we weren’t limited by tyres and tarmac?" The answer includes tracks that climb the side of an active volcano, courses that feel like roller‑coasters, and other gravity‑defying set‑pieces that would be impossible in a realistic simulation. Beyond the arcade thrills, Galactic Racer seeks to upend long‑standing racing conventions.
Traditionally, racing games have built their progression around car collection—a formula that hasn’t changed much in two decades. Webster wants to tear that model apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One of the most radical changes is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashes. In many modern racers a rewind button erases mistakes, but Fuse wants crashes to matter.
“If you crash too many times you’re sent back to the start, but you keep some meta‑progression that makes you a bit stronger,” he explains. This risk‑reward loop mirrors the design philosophy of roguelikes such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire, which are built for infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability," Webster says, "so combining it with roguelike elements feels like a match made in heaven." The consequence system forces players to weigh every maneuver.
When you’re down to your last allowable crash, the tension spikes and you start thinking about the risk you’re taking. This design choice is a deliberate departure from the hand‑holding that has become common in AAA titles, and Webster believes it will help the game stand out in a crowded market, especially in a year that will see heavyweight releases like GTA 6, Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall.
The release window reflects that confidence. Galactic Racer is slated for October 6, giving it a comfortable gap before GTA 6’s November 19 launch while still landing after several major September releases. Webster notes that busy pre‑holiday schedules are nothing new. “People used to call October ‘murderers’ row’ because it was packed with big titles,” he recalls.
“We’re aware the market is competitive, but we have a healthy sense of confidence tempered by realism.” When asked about the wave of layoffs sweeping the industry, Webster draws on his long tenure. He remembers a similar contraction about fifteen years ago and stresses that great teams make great games, which in turn find audiences. “There’s an aversion to risk right now,” he says, “and that creates opportunities for those willing to take calculated bets.
If you’re overly cautious, you limit your chances.” Funding an independent studio in 2023 has not been easy. Webster admits that many people questioned his decision to leave a secure EA position after 32 years. “It felt like stepping into a bubble,” he says.
“But the principles I learned—building a solid team, refining a creative vision, staying disciplined while accepting that plans will change—still apply.” He emphasizes that a motivated, engaged team is the key to delivering great work. Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core of about 75 staff, a size more typical of a mid‑tier studio than a traditional AAA developer.
This intentional choice avoids the boom‑and‑bust cycle of rapidly scaling teams up and down. Instead, Fuse relies heavily on external partners to fill gaps, ranging from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full co‑development where outside studios sit in Fuse’s stand‑ups, Slack channels and code repositories. Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations, noting that today many studios are eager to work on diverse projects rather than being locked into a single proprietary pipeline.
According to Webster, this hybrid model proves that a AAA‑scale game—by scope, visual fidelity and ambition—can be produced on a sustainable budget when the core team stays small and trusted partners are leveraged. The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer underscores that point: Fuse was founded in January 2023, and just three and a half years later they have a finished product built on Unreal Engine 5, an engine none of the team had previously mastered. Another noteworthy aspect of Fuse’s approach is its emphasis on youthful talent. Alongside the Criterion veterans, the studio has recruited many younger developers, even hiring a producer who had never worked in games before.
"The young talent we have is incredibly smart and effective—often more so than I was at that age," Webster says. He observes that seasoned developers sometimes prefer senior colleagues who require minimal interaction, which can stifle mentorship.
By deliberately nurturing younger staff, Fuse has discovered a boost in creativity and motivation that outweighs the experience gap. Webster hopes to formalise this commitment through an internship program, though he acknowledges the studio is still pre‑revenue. He points to Criterion’s successful intern pipelines as a model and admits that developing talent comes with a cost that must be recognized up front. Reflecting on the era a few years ago when the industry was flush with cash, Webster recalls that many successful games led to funding for spin‑off studios, only for those founders to discover how hard it truly is to launch independently.
He argues that money should have been allocated to strong teams rather than to the myth of a singular visionary. "The idea that one creative genius can carry a game is complete bullshit," he says. "Games are always collaborative endeavors." Looking ahead, Fuse Games does not have a fixed roadmap. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and the studio remains open to new opportunities and ideas.
"As an independent developer you have to stay flexible and adaptable," Webster concludes. "We have ideas for the future, but we’ll let the market and our own growth dictate the next steps."