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 Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed, which EA acquired in 2004.
In early 2023, however, Webster joined forces with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant to launch an independent UK studio called Fuse Games. Just three and a half years later, Fuse is poised to ship its debut title, *Star Wars: Galactic Racer*, under the banner of the newly independent publisher Secret Mode. The new game arrives roughly 24 years after the last Star Wars‑themed racing experience, the 2002 release *Racer Revenge*.
In the intervening two decades, the racing genre has struggled for mainstream relevance. Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title *Clutch*, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis noting that the market simply didn’t seem to fit the project. Meanwhile, Criterion itself has shifted focus away from pure racing, devoting its resources to the *Battlefield* franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars racing game.
“We clearly think there’s an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told *GamesIndustry.biz*. “We’re not the only ones who feel that way, and the feedback we get from people watching our videos and reading our articles suggests we’re not alone.” He points out that video‑game genres tend to be cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other types inevitably re‑emerge. “As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches find a bigger audience,” Webster added.
Webster believes players are craving fresh, compelling experiences they haven’t seen before, and he sees *Galactic Racer* as delivering exactly that. The studio’s vision was to capture the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also asking, “What can we do when we’re no longer bound by tyres and tarmac?” The answer, according to Webster, 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, *Galactic Racer* is deliberately subverting long‑standing racing conventions. Most racing games have relied on a car‑collection model for the past two decades.
Webster wants to rip that formula apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One of the most striking innovations is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashes. In many modern racers, a rewind button nullifies any penalty, but Webster argues that consequence should matter.
“If you crash too many times you’re sent back to the start, but you keep some meta‑progression that puts you in a stronger position,” he explained. “When you’re on your last crash, you feel the weight of the risk you’re taking.” The design philosophy draws heavily from roguelike titles such as *Hades*, *Returnal* and *Slay the Spire*, which emphasize infinite replayability. “Racing thrives on replayability, so combining it with roguelike loops feels like a match made in heaven,” Webster said.
This approach encourages players to experiment, learn from failures, and keep returning for new runs, each time with a slightly different set of tools or upgrades. Releasing a new IP in a crowded calendar is a bold gamble, especially with heavyweight titles like *GTA 6* slated for November 19.
*Galactic Racer* is set for an October 6 launch, landing between major releases such as *Control: Resonance* and *Silent Hill: Townfall* (both due September 24). Webster acknowledges the crowded window but reminds us that the industry has weathered even busier pre‑Christmas schedules before.
“People used to call September ‘murderers’ row,’ and October was always packed,” he recalled. “We have a healthy confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things may turn out.” The conversation inevitably turned to the wave of layoffs sweeping the sector. Having survived previous cycles, Webster notes that great teams produce great games, and great games find their audience.
He sees the current risk‑averse climate as an opening for studios willing to take calculated bets. “If you’re not willing to risk, you limit your opportunities,” he warned. Funding an independent studio in 2023 has not been easy. “People told me, ‘You’re brave starting an indie studio now,’” Webster said, reflecting on his transition from a 32‑year tenure at EA to the uncertainty of a startup.
His guiding principles remain the same: assemble a talented team, hone a clear creative vision, and maintain disciplined planning—while accepting that plans will evolve. “Engaged, motivated talent creates great things, so it’s our job to keep them inspired,” he added.
Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core of about 75 staff, a deliberate choice to avoid the industry’s typical “grow‑shrink‑grow” staffing cycles. Instead, the studio leans on external partners to fill gaps, ranging from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full co‑development where external studios sit in on daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even share codebases.
Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as especially conducive to this collaborative model. “In the past, other companies would only help you grudgingly, but now there are firms eager to work across multiple projects, keeping their teams fresh and excited.” Webster believes this hybrid approach can deliver AAA‑level scope, scale and visual fidelity on a sustainable budget.
The rapid development timeline of *Galactic Racer*—starting Fuse in January 2023 and delivering a finished product in just three and a half years—demonstrates the model’s viability. “We built a studio, a team, and a game on Unreal Engine 5, a tool none of us had mastered at the outset. It feels like a genuine achievement, achieved in a healthy, sustainable way,” he said.
A notable aspect of Fuse’s roster is the infusion of younger developers alongside the Criterion veterans. One producer on the project had never worked in games before joining the team. “Our young talent is often smarter and more effective than we were at that age,” Webster observed.
He argues that nurturing junior staff can be more rewarding than relying solely on seasoned veterans, who may prefer working with peers rather than mentoring newcomers. This insight has already influenced Fuse’s hiring strategy, prompting a shift toward recruiting fresh talent. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to further develop emerging creators, though he cautions that the studio is still pre‑revenue. He points to Criterion’s successful intern pipelines as a model and acknowledges the cost and effort required to cultivate new talent.
Reflecting on the boom years of roughly five to six years ago, when abundant funding allowed successful developers to spin off their own studios, Webster notes that many of those ventures struggled because the money was often funneled toward “superstar” individuals rather than solid teams. He dismisses the industry’s lingering fascination with a single “creative visionary” as “fucking bullshit,” emphasizing that games are fundamentally collaborative endeavors. As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster admits the future is still being written. The launch of *Star Wars: Galactic Racer* is just the beginning, and the studio remains open to exploring new opportunities and ideas.
“Independent developers today need to stay flexible and adaptable,” he concluded. "We have a direction, we have ambitions, and we’ll see where the market and our creativity take us."