Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started at EA in 1990 and spent almost twenty years at Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed, which 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 their own independent venture, Fuse Games, based in the United Kingdom.
Just over three years later the fledgling studio is preparing to ship 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 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 walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for the upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis stating that the project didn’t seem to fit the current market. Meanwhile, Criterion itself has pivoted away from pure racing and now focuses on the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced that a demand exists. “We clearly see an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz.
“Our community, the people who watch our videos and read our articles, tells us we’re not alone in that belief.” He points out that video‑game genres tend to be cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other types inevitably re‑emerge. “The more people play games, the larger the audience even the tiniest niche can find,” Webster explains.
Players, he says, are hungry for “fun, interesting, compelling new experiences they haven’t seen before,” and he believes Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The design philosophy at Fuse is deliberately arcade‑centric, aiming for instant gratification while also exploring what can be done when developers are no longer limited by the physics of tyres and tarmac.
“We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano,” Webster notes, describing courses that feel more like roller‑coasters than conventional circuits. This emphasis on spectacle is paired with a desire to upend long‑standing genre conventions. Most racing games have relied on a car‑collection model for the past two decades; Fuse wants to “rip that up and steal from other genres.” One of the most striking innovations is the introduction of meaningful consequences for player mistakes. In many modern racers a rewind button erases the impact of a crash, but Galactic Racer brings the penalty back.
“If you crash too often you’re sent back to the start, but you keep some meta‑progression that puts you in a stronger position,” Webster explains. The tension of a limited number of crashes forces players to weigh risk versus reward, especially when they’re on their last life and the stakes feel critical. Webster also cites inspiration from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire—games built around infinite replayability.
“Racing thrives on replayability, so combining it with roguelike loops feels like a match made in heaven,” he says. Each run offers a fresh arrangement of hazards, power‑ups and shortcuts, encouraging players to experiment and improve over multiple attempts.
Launching the game on October 6 places it between several heavyweight releases. Grand Theft Auto VI is slated for November 19, while Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall debuted on September 24. Some industry observers warned that September would be a crowded month, but Webster recalls earlier eras when October was dubbed “murderer’s row” due to a packed schedule. He acknowledges the competition but emphasizes Fuse’s “healthy confidence” balanced with a realistic outlook.
“Good games will find a way,” he says, echoing a mantra that has guided him through industry downturns. Speaking about the recent wave of layoffs, Webster reflects on his long tenure and the earlier bust around 2010‑2012. “Great teams make great games, and great games find an audience,” he observes.
He warns that a pervasive aversion to risk can stifle innovation, yet he sees opportunity for studios willing to take calculated bets. “If you shy away from risk, you limit yourself,” he adds. Funding an independent studio in 2023 has not been easy.
“People told me I was brave for starting an indie studio now,” Webster recalls. After 32 years at EA, he stepped out of a comfortable bubble into an uncertain environment. He relied on core principles: assembling a talented team, sharpening a creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning while staying adaptable. “The plan is always wrong, but it’s the best version you have today,” he says, stressing the importance of iteration and staying true to values.
Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core—about 75 people—by design. Rather than expanding and contracting staff in waves, the studio leans on external partners to fill gaps. This hybrid model blends transactional outsourcing (pure asset creation) with true co‑development, where outside studios attend daily stand‑ups, join Slack channels and contribute directly to the codebase.
Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a key advantage, noting that today’s external studios are eager to collaborate across projects, keeping their talent fresh and motivated. From Webster’s perspective, this approach makes AAA‑scale production sustainable on a tighter budget. “You can deliver a game with AAA scope, scale and fidelity while keeping costs reasonable,” he asserts, citing the rapid three‑and‑a‑half‑year development cycle from Fuse’s founding in January 2023 to the imminent launch of Galactic Racer. The team learned Unreal Engine 5 from scratch, built pipelines, and shipped a polished product—all without the financial strain typical of larger studios.
A notable aspect of Fuse’s workforce is the infusion of younger developers. One producer on Galactic Racer had never worked in games before joining the project. “Our young talent is often smarter and more effective than we were at their age,” Webster says proudly.
He argues that nurturing junior staff can be more rewarding than relying solely on seasoned veterans, who may prefer working independently and offer less mentorship. This philosophy has already prompted Fuse to adjust its hiring strategy toward emerging talent. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue and must be cautious about the costs of talent development. He references Criterion’s successful intern pipelines as a model they would like to emulate.
Reflecting on the boom years five or six years ago, Webster observes that many well‑funded teams splintered when they tried to start their own studios, often underestimating the challenges. He criticizes the industry’s lingering fascination with the “single creative visionary” myth, calling it “bullshit.” In reality, games are collaborative endeavors. As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster remains open‑ended.
The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and the studio is already exploring potential follow‑up projects. “Independent developers need to stay flexible and adaptable,” he concludes, emphasizing that the future will be shaped by those willing to take risks, experiment with new development models, and keep a keen eye on emerging talent.