Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within Electronic Arts. He started at the company in 1990 and spent almost twenty years developing titles for 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 leave the corporate fold and launch an independent UK studio called Fuse Games.
Just over three years later the fledgling team is on the brink of releasing 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 racing effort – 2002’s Racer Revenge – and it does so at a moment when traditional racing games have lost much of their mainstream appeal. Amazon recently cancelled a publishing agreement with UK studio Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis noting that the market simply didn’t have room for another racer. Meanwhile Criterion, once a powerhouse of arcade‑style car games, has shifted its focus to the Battlefield franchise.
Despite these signals, Webster is convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars‑themed racing experience. “We clearly see a demand for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “Our community, the people who watch our videos and read our posts, tell us they’re eager for something like this.
Genres tend to be cyclical. After a long period where shooters dominated, other styles begin to resurface. As more people play video games, even the tiniest niche can find a sizable fanbase.” Webster believes gamers are searching 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 of classic arcade racers while also asking, “What could we do if we weren’t limited by tyres and tarmac?” The answer, he says, is tracks that climb the side of an active volcano, courses that feel like roller‑coasters, and environments that defy the physics of conventional road racing.
Beyond the high‑octane thrills, Fuse is deliberately breaking long‑standing genre conventions. Traditional racing games have relied on a car‑collection model for the past two decades – you earn or purchase new vehicles, upgrade them, and race again.
Webster wants to rip up that formula and borrow mechanics from other genres. One of the most radical changes is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashing. In many modern racers a rewind button erases mistakes, but Galactic Racer re‑introduces risk: repeated crashes send you back to the start, though you retain a portion of your meta‑progression, placing you in a stronger position the next attempt. This creates a tension similar to that found in roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal, and Slay the Spire, where each run is a fresh challenge and the game is built around infinite replayability.
"Racing thrives on replayability," Webster notes, "so marrying it with roguelike principles feels like a perfect match." The game’s design also embraces a more punitive, less hand‑held approach than many contemporary AAA releases. When a player is on their final allowed crash, the stakes feel palpable; the risk of losing progress forces a more strategic driving style.
This shift aligns with Webster’s broader view of the industry: while big releases like GTA 6 dominate headlines, there is room for smaller, innovative projects that cater to specific tastes. Galactic Racer is slated for an October 6 launch, comfortably ahead of GTA 6’s November 19 release but close enough to other major titles such as Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall, both arriving on September 24. Webster acknowledges the crowded calendar but points out that the industry has always endured busy windows.
"People used to call September ‘murderers’ row,’ and October was packed as well. We’re confident, but we keep a realistic outlook on how things might unfold," he says.
When discussing the wave of layoffs sweeping the sector, Webster reflects on his own long tenure. He recalls a similar bout of cuts fifteen years ago and emphasizes a timeless truth: great teams produce great games, and great games find their audience.
He argues that the current climate shows an aversion to risk, which paradoxically creates opportunities for studios willing to gamble on unconventional ideas. Yet he concedes that securing funding for an independent studio in 2023 has been difficult.
After three decades at EA, stepping into a startup felt like stepping into the unknown. His guiding principles have remained the same: assemble a talented team, refine a clear creative vision, and maintain disciplined planning while staying adaptable. Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core team of about 75 people – a deliberate choice to avoid the industry’s typical “grow‑shrink‑grow” cycle.
Instead, the studio relies on external partners to fill skill gaps, ranging from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full co‑development where external studios join daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even the codebase. Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations, noting that today’s external studios are eager to work on diverse projects rather than merely keeping the lights on. The result, he believes, is a sustainable model for AAA‑scale production on a more manageable budget. Fuse built its studio, assembled its team, and delivered a UE5‑powered game within three and a half years – a timeline that would have seemed impossible a decade ago.
The rapid development underscores the viability of the small‑core‑plus‑partners approach. Another noteworthy aspect is the infusion of youthful talent. While the studio includes several Criterion veterans, many of its developers are newcomers to the industry, and one producer had never worked on a game before joining Fuse.
Webster praises this fresh perspective, stating that younger staff often bring a level of ingenuity and efficiency that can surpass that of seasoned veterans. He observes that senior developers sometimes prefer working with peers who require minimal mentorship, but nurturing younger talent creates a more engaging and motivated environment for everyone.
Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to continue attracting emerging talent, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue. He cites Criterion’s successful intern initiatives as a model and stresses the importance of recognizing the costs associated with developing new talent. Reflecting on a period when the industry was flush with cash, Webster recalls how many successful developers were handed funding to start their own studios, only to discover the challenges were far greater than expected. He criticizes the lingering myth of the “lone creative visionary,” calling it "bullshit" and insisting that games are always the product of collaborative effort.
As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster says the future is still being written. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and the studio remains open to new opportunities and ideas. Flexibility and adaptability, he concludes, are essential for independent developers navigating today’s ever‑changing market.