Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to remain at 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 that EA acquired in 2004.
In early 2023, however, Webster teamed up with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant to launch an independent UK studio called Fuse Games. Just over three years later, Fuse is on the brink of releasing 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 racing game, 2002’s Racer Revenge, and it does so at a moment when the racing genre has generally lost some of its mainstream steam. Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for a forthcoming driving title called Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis noting that the market didn’t seem to fit the product.
Meanwhile, Criterion, once a powerhouse of arcade‑style racers, 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 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 response we get from people watching our videos or reading our articles suggests we’re not alone.” Webster argues that video‑game genres are cyclical.
“We went through a phase where shooters dominated everything, but that’s not the only genre that can thrive,” he said. “As more people play games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger audience.” He believes players are looking for fresh, compelling experiences they haven’t seen before, and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that.
The studio set out to capture the instant‑gratification feel of classic arcade racers while also asking, “What can we do once 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 other gravity‑defying set‑pieces that would be impossible in a realistic driving simulation. Beyond the high‑octane thrills, Galactic Racer seeks to upend long‑standing conventions of the racing genre. Traditionally, racers have relied on a car‑collection model that has remained largely unchanged for two decades.
Webster wants to rip that formula apart 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 eliminates any penalty for mistakes, but Fuse wants to bring risk back into the equation. “If you crash too many times you’re sent back to the start, but you keep some meta‑progression with you,” he explained.
“That means each crash matters, especially when you’re on your last life and the stakes feel real.” The design philosophy draws heavily from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire—games built for infinite replayability. “Racing thrives on replayability, so marrying it with roguelike loops feels like a match made in heaven,” Webster said. The idea is to create a game where each run feels fresh, where the player’s decisions shape the outcome, and where the sense of progression persists even after a failure.
This approach is a clear departure from the hand‑holding that has become common in many AAA releases, and it reflects Webster’s belief that standing out in a crowded market requires bold experimentation. Timing the launch is another strategic consideration. Galactic Racer is slated for release on October 6, a comfortable gap before the highly anticipated GTA 6 launch on November 19, yet close enough to ride the wave of other major releases like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall, both arriving on September 24.
Webster acknowledges that the pre‑holiday window is traditionally packed, recalling past industry chatter about “Murderer’s Row” in September and October. Nonetheless, he maintains a “healthy sense of confidence” tempered by realism: “Good games will find a way,” he said, echoing an old industry maxim. When asked about the wave of layoffs sweeping the sector, Webster reflected on his own long tenure.
He remembers a similar round of cuts fifteen years ago and notes a pattern: great teams make great games, and great games attract audiences. He sees the current risk‑averse climate as both a challenge and an opportunity. “When the industry shies away from risk, it opens space for those willing to take calculated bets,” he observed.
“If you’re too cautious, you limit your own possibilities.” Funding an independent studio in 2023 has not been easy. Webster recounts how peers questioned his decision to start Fuse, remarking, “You’re brave doing an indie studio now.” After 32 years at EA, he had to adapt to a new reality.
He leaned on principles he’d learned over his career: building a strong team, refining a clear creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning—while accepting that plans are always provisional and must be iterated upon. “Engaged and motivated talent makes great things,” he emphasized, adding that nurturing that talent is a core responsibility of leadership.
Fuse Games remains relatively small for a project of AAA scope, employing around 75 people. This size is intentional; the studio wants to avoid the boom‑and‑bust staffing cycles that plague many large developers. Instead, Fuse relies heavily on external partners to fill gaps, ranging from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to deep co‑development relationships 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 a cultural shift from reluctant, grudging assistance to enthusiastic, value‑aligned partnerships. The result, according to Webster, is a sustainable model for delivering AAA‑level scope, scale and visual fidelity without the massive overhead traditionally associated with such projects. He points to the rapid development timeline as evidence: Fuse was founded in January 2023, and in just three and a half years the team has built a studio, assembled a crew, learned Unreal Engine 5 from scratch, and produced a polished, market‑ready title. “It feels like an achievement, and we’ve done it in a healthy, sustainable way,” he said.
A notable aspect of Fuse’s approach is its blend of veteran expertise and fresh perspectives. While many of the studio’s founders come from Criterion, the team also includes a wave of younger developers—some of whom have never worked in games before. One producer on Galactic Racer had no prior industry experience.
“The young talent we’ve hired is often smarter and more effective than I was at their age,” Webster remarked. He believes that focusing on nurturing junior staff can be more rewarding than relying solely on seasoned developers who may prefer working in isolation. The studio is even contemplating an intern program to formalise this pipeline, though Webster cautions that they are still pre‑revenue and must be realistic about the costs involved.
Looking back at the 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 greater than anticipated. He criticises the lingering myth of the “lone creative visionary,” calling it “bullshit.” In his view, great games are always the product of collaboration, not solitary genius. As for what lies beyond Galactic Racer, Fuse Games remains flexible. The launch is just the first step, and the studio is already considering future opportunities, but Webster stresses that independence demands adaptability.
“We have ideas about where we want to go next, but an indie developer has to stay nimble and ready to pivot,” he concluded.