Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to remain within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started at EA in 1990 and spent almost twenty years contributing to the iconic Burnout and Need for Speed franchises while they were under the Criterion banner, a studio EA acquired in 2004.
Yet in early 2023, Webster, together with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to strike out on their own and launch the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Just over three years later the fledgling studio is poised to ship its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which will be published by the newly independent label 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 moment when racing games have generally slipped out of the mainstream spotlight. Recent industry news underscores this trend: Amazon withdrew from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis stating that the product didn’t fit the current market.
Meanwhile, Criterion itself has pivoted away from racing to focus on the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced that a demand still exists. “We clearly see an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz.
“Our community feedback – video views, article reads – suggests we’re not the only ones who think so.” Webster argues that video‑game genres are cyclical. “We went through a phase where shooters dominated everything, but that’s not the whole story,” he said. “As more people play games, even the tiniest niches can find a sizable audience.” He believes players are hungry for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen before," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that.
The design philosophy behind the game embraces 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, is tracks that climb the sides of active volcanoes and courses that feel more like roller‑coasters than traditional circuits. Yet the ambition goes beyond visual spectacle.
Webster wants to upend the entrenched structure of most racing games, which has for two decades revolved around car collection. “Let’s rip that up and borrow ideas from other genres,” he declared. One of those borrowed ideas is the concept of meaningful consequence, a mechanic often diluted in modern racers by the safety net of rewind buttons.
In Galactic Racer, crashes have real weight: too many mishaps send you back to the start, though you retain some meta‑progression that puts you in a stronger position the next run. This risk‑reward loop mirrors the design of roguelikes such as Hades, Returnal, and Slay the Spire, games built for infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability," Webster noted, "so pairing it with roguelike principles feels like a match made in heaven." The timing of the launch is also strategic. Galactic Racer is slated for release on October 6, a comfortable gap before the highly anticipated GTA 6, scheduled for November 19.
It also lands shortly after other major releases like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall, which both debuted on September 24. While some industry observers warned that September is a crowded month, Webster recalled older eras when October was considered “murderers’ row” for game releases.
He acknowledges the competition but says Fuse Games approaches it with a “healthy sense of confidence” tempered by realistic expectations. “Good games will find a way,” he affirmed. The conversation inevitably turned to the wave of layoffs sweeping the industry.
Having lived through a previous round of cuts fifteen years ago, Webster sees a pattern: great teams produce great games, and great games attract audiences. He warns that an aversion to risk is limiting opportunity, and that studios willing to take calculated bets can thrive. Funding, however, has not been a walk in the park for the new studio. “People told me I was brave to start an independent studio in 2023,” Webster recalled.
After 32 years at EA, he stepped out of a comfortable bubble into a world where securing capital is a genuine hurdle. His response was to lean on core principles: assemble a talented team, crystalise a creative vision, and maintain disciplined planning while staying flexible enough to adapt when the plan proves wrong. Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core—about 75 staff members—by design.
Rather than expanding and contracting the internal team in response to project needs, the studio supplements its capabilities with external partners. This hybrid model ranges from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to deep co‑development relationships where outside studios join daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even the codebase.
Webster points out that the UK’s mature development ecosystem makes it an ideal hub for such collaboration. “In the past, external studios were reluctant to help; now they’re eager to work on diverse projects, keeping their talent fresh and motivated.” Webster believes this approach proves that a AAA‑scale game—by scope, visual fidelity, and ambition—can be built on a sustainable budget when a small permanent team partners with trusted external groups. The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer underscores this. Fuse was founded in January 2023; three and a half years later the team has built a studio, assembled a workforce, and delivered a UE5‑based game despite none of them having prior experience with the engine.
“It feels like an achievement, and we did it in a healthy, sustainable way,” he said. A notable aspect of Fuse’s culture is its blend of veteran expertise and fresh talent. While many of the founding members are Criterion alumni, the studio also hired numerous younger developers, even bringing on a producer who had never previously worked in games. "The young talent we have is smarter and more effective in many ways than I was at that age," Webster observed.
He argues that seasoned developers often prefer senior colleagues who need little guidance, which can stifle growth. By nurturing younger staff, Fuse creates a mutually motivating environment. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalise an internship program to further cultivate emerging talent, though he cautions that the studio is still pre‑revenue. He references Criterion’s successful intern initiatives as a model and acknowledges the cost and effort required to develop talent responsibly.
Reflecting on the industry’s past focus on “singular creative visionaries,” Webster dismisses the notion as “bullshit.” He insists that games are collaborative endeavours, built by teams rather than lone geniuses. The recent influx of money that allowed successful developers to spin off their own studios often overlooked the importance of strong teams, a mistake he believes the industry is correcting. As for Fuse’s next steps, the studio remains flexible.
The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and while they have ideas for future projects, they recognise that independence demands adaptability. "We’ll be talking to partners about opportunities, but we have to stay nimble," Webster concluded.