Matt Webster appeared destined for a lifelong tenure at Electronic Arts. He entered the company back in 1990 and devoted nearly twenty years to the studio that owned Criterion, the creators of Burnout and Need for Speed, after EA’s acquisition in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster, together with fellow Criterion veterans Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, chose to leave the corporate behemoth and set up an independent studio in the United Kingdom called Fuse Games.
Fast‑forward three and a half years, and the fledgling studio is on the verge of releasing its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, under the banner of the newly independent publisher Secret Mode. Galactic Racer arrives roughly twenty‑four years after the last Star Wars racing experience, the 2002 release Racer Revenge, and it does so at a time when racing games have generally lost some of their mainstream luster. Amazon recently pulled the plug on a publishing agreement with UK studio Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis commenting that the product didn’t seem to fit the market. Meanwhile, Criterion itself has pivoted away from pure racing projects to focus on the Battlefield franchise.
Webster, nevertheless, is convinced that a viable audience exists. “We clearly think there’s a demand for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “We’re not the only ones believing that, and from the comments we see on our videos and articles, it looks like many people share the sentiment.” He points out that genres tend to be cyclical. “We went through a phase where shooters dominated everything, but that’s not the only genre that can capture players’ attention.
As more people take up gaming, even the tiniest niche can find a larger fanbase.” According to Webster, gamers are hungry for “fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen before,” and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The team set out to capture the instant‑gratification feel of classic arcade racers while also exploring what becomes possible when you’re no longer bound by the physics of tires and asphalt.
“For example, we’ve designed tracks that climb the side of an active volcano,” he explains. “It’s a roller‑coaster‑like experience at times.” Those over‑the‑top elements are meant to sit alongside a deeper ambition: to subvert entrenched conventions of the racing genre. Traditional titles have relied on a car‑collection model for roughly two decades; Webster wants to tear that structure up and borrow ideas from other genres.
One such borrowed concept is the emphasis on meaningful consequences. In many modern racers, a rewind feature can erase mistakes, making crashes feel inconsequential. Fuse wants to bring the weight of failure back. When a player crashes too often, they are sent back to the start, though they retain a measure of meta‑progress that places them in a stronger position for the next attempt.
“When you’re on your last crash and you’re in a critical system, you literally lean forward and think about the risk you’re taking,” Webster says. The game’s design also draws inspiration from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire—games built around infinite replayability.
“Racing thrives on replayability, so mixing it with roguelike loops feels like a match made in heaven.” The idea is that each run feels fresh, with procedural elements and a persistent progression layer that rewards perseverance despite setbacks. Webster acknowledges that this approach represents a bold departure from the hand‑holding typical of many AAA releases. He also recognises the timing challenges of launching a new IP in a crowded calendar year that also features heavyweight releases like GTA 6.
Galactic Racer is slated for October 6, giving it a comfortable buffer before GTA 6’s November 19 launch, yet it still lands amidst other major launches such as Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall on September 24. “People always say September looks busy, but I remember the ‘murderer’s row’ era where October was jam‑packed,” Webster remarks. “The market is competitive, but we have a healthy confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things may turn out.” He reflects on the broader industry climate, noting that layoffs have become a recurring headline.
Having witnessed a wave of job cuts a decade and a half ago, Webster believes that strong teams produce great games, and great games eventually find an audience. “There’s an aversion to risk right now,” he observes, “which actually creates opportunities for those willing to take calculated bets. If you’re too risk‑averse, you limit yourself.” Funding, however, has not been a free‑ride.
Starting an independent studio in 2023 was described as “brave” by skeptics. Webster says his thirty‑two years at EA had insulated him in a bubble; the new venture forced him to rely on core principles: building a great team, honing a clear creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning while accepting that plans will inevitably evolve.
Fuse Games remains a relatively small operation for a title of AAA ambition—about 75 people. This size is intentional. The studio avoids the typical “grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink” cycle that many large developers experience.
Instead, Fuse leans on external partners to fill capability gaps, employing a hybrid model that ranges from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to deep co‑development where external studios sit alongside Fuse’s internal team in daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and code repositories. The UK’s mature development ecosystem makes it an ideal hub for such collaboration. In the past, external studios often helped out of necessity, reluctantly contributing to projects. Today, the landscape has shifted: firms are eager to work on diverse projects with different partners, keeping their talent fresh and motivated.
Webster is convinced that this blended approach can deliver a AAA‑scale experience on a sustainable budget. “We’ve learned a ton,” he says, noting that the rapid development timeline—starting Fuse in January 2023 and delivering a finished product three and a half years later on Unreal Engine 5, a tool none of the team had previously mastered—demonstrates the model’s viability. Another noteworthy aspect is the infusion of young talent.
Alongside the Criterion veterans, Fuse has recruited many newcomers, including a producer who had never worked in games before. “The younger developers are incredibly smart and effective—often more so than I was at their age,” Webster enthuses.
He believes nurturing youthful creators is more beneficial than simply hiring seasoned veterans who may prefer working in isolation. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalise an internship program to continue cultivating fresh talent, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue. He cites Criterion’s historic intern initiatives as an inspiration and cautions that developing talent carries costs that must be recognised up front.
Reflecting on a previous era when the industry was flush with capital, Webster notes that many “super‑star” developers received funding to start their own studios, only to discover the harsh reality that building a successful company is far tougher than it appears. He argues that money should be allocated to great teams rather than singular visionary personalities—a myth he calls “complete bullshit.” When asked about Fuse’s next steps, Webster concedes that the future is still being charted. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the opening chapter, and the studio remains open to conversations about new opportunities.
“As an independent developer you have to stay flexible and adaptable,” he says, wrapping up his vision for a studio that balances a tight core team with strategic external partnerships while championing the next generation of game‑makers.