Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within Electronic Arts. He started at the company in 1990 and spent almost twenty years contributing to the iconic Burnout and Need for Speed franchises through Criterion, the studio EA acquired in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster, alongside fellow Criterion alumni Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to break away and establish 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 momentum. Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis explaining that the market simply didn’t seem to fit the project. Meanwhile Criterion itself has shifted focus away from pure racing toward the Battlefield franchise.
Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly believe there’s an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz.
“We’re not the only ones thinking that, and the response we get from videos and articles suggests we’re not alone.” He points out that genres tend to be cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other types inevitably resurface. “As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches find a bigger audience,” Webster said. He believes gamers are searching for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen before," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that fresh angle.
Fuse’s vision for Galactic Racer is to capture the instant gratification of classic arcade racing while also exploring what’s possible when developers are no longer constrained by realistic tyres and tarmac. “We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano,” Webster explained. “Sometimes it feels like a roller‑coaster.” Those over‑the‑top environments are meant to evoke the thrill of arcade‑style play, but the game also pushes against long‑standing genre conventions. Traditional racing games have relied on a car‑collection model for roughly two decades.
Webster wants to rip that formula apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One of the most striking innovations is the emphasis on consequence.
In many modern racers, a rewind button can erase mistakes, diluting the impact of crashing. Galactic Racer re‑introduces real stakes: crashing repeatedly can send the player back to the start, though a small amount of meta‑progression carries over, putting the racer in a slightly stronger position. This risk‑reward loop is inspired by roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire, which are built around infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability," Webster noted, "so marrying it with roguelike principles feels like a match made in heaven." The design encourages players to weigh each maneuver, especially when they’re on their final allowed crash and the systems are critical.
Launching the game on October 6 places it in a crowded autumn window, sandwiched between major releases like Control: Resonance (September 24) and Silent Hill: Townfall, and just a month before the highly anticipated GTA 6 slated for November 19. Webster acknowledges the competitive landscape but remains confident. He recalls past years when September felt packed, yet developers still managed to thrive during what was once dubbed “Murderer’s Row.” Fuse approaches the market with a “healthy sense of confidence” balanced by a realistic view of potential outcomes.
“Good games will find a way,” he says, echoing an industry maxim. Webster also reflects on the wave of layoffs sweeping the sector.
Having witnessed a similar contraction fifteen years ago, he stresses that great teams produce great games, and great games attract audiences. He argues that an industry averse to risk creates opportunities for those willing to take calculated bets.
“If you’re not willing to make those bets, you limit your own opportunities,” he warned. Funding an independent studio in 2023 has been far from easy.
After three decades at EA, Webster found himself stepping out of a comfortable bubble into a world where securing capital is a genuine challenge. He emphasizes core principles: building a talented team, honing a clear creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning—while accepting that plans will inevitably evolve. Engagement and motivation, he says, are the engines that turn good ideas into great products.
Fuse operates with a relatively lean core—about 75 people—by design. Rather than repeatedly scaling staff up and down, the studio leans on external partners to fill skill gaps. This hybrid model blends transactional outsourcing for asset creation with deeper co‑development relationships where external studios attend stand‑ups, join Slack channels, and contribute directly to the codebase. The UK’s mature game development ecosystem, Webster notes, makes such collaboration especially effective.
Companies now hire developers eager to work across multiple projects, keeping talent fresh and enthusiastic. Webster believes this small‑core‑plus‑trusted‑partners approach can deliver AAA‑level scope, scale and visual fidelity on a more sustainable budget. The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer—starting Fuse in January 2023 and delivering a full UE5‑powered game in just three and a half years—demonstrates the model’s viability. A notable aspect of Fuse’s culture is its embrace of younger talent.
While the studio includes several Criterion veterans, many team members are fresh faces, and one producer has never worked in games before. "The young talent we have is smarter and more effective in many ways than I was at that age," Webster says.
He argues that seasoned developers often prefer senior colleagues who need minimal guidance, but nurturing junior staff can be equally motivating for both parties. The studio hopes to formalize an internship program in the future, though it remains pre‑revenue and cautious about the costs involved.
Looking back to a period five or six years ago when the industry was flush with cash, Webster observes that many successful developers received funding to start their own studios, only to discover how difficult it truly is. He criticizes the industry’s lingering fixation on the myth of the singular creative visionary, calling it "bullshit." In reality, games are collaborative creations, and success stems from strong teams rather than lone geniuses. As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster admits the future is still being written.
The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and the studio remains open to exploring new opportunities while staying adaptable—a necessity for independent developers in today’s fast‑changing market.