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 developing iconic franchises such as Burnout and Need for Speed while working at Criterion, the studio EA acquired in 2004. Yet in early 2023 he, along with fellow Criterion alumni Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to leave the corporate behemoth and launch an independent studio in the United Kingdom called Fuse Games. Three and a half 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.
The timing of *Galactic Racer* is noteworthy. The last Star Wars‑themed racing game, *Racer Revenge*, hit shelves in 2002 – a full 24 years ago. In the intervening decades, the racing genre has struggled to maintain a mainstream foothold. Amazon recently cancelled a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for a new driving title called *Clutch*, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis explaining that the market simply didn’t have room for another racer.
Meanwhile, Criterion, once a powerhouse of arcade‑style racing, has shifted its focus to the *Battlefield* franchise. Despite these headwinds, Webster is convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars 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 reaction 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.
“Shooters dominated for a while, but that’s not the only genre that can thrive. As more people play games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger fan base.” Webster believes gamers are looking for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen before," and he feels *Galactic Racer* delivers on that promise. The studio set out to capture the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also exploring what can be done when you’re no longer bound by the physics of real‑world tyres and tarmac.
“We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano,” he explains. “Sometimes it feels more like a roller‑coaster than a traditional circuit.” Beyond the high‑octane thrills, *Galactic Racer* deliberately subverts several long‑standing conventions of the racing genre. For decades, most racers have been built around a car‑collection model, a formula that hasn’t fundamentally changed in twenty years.
Webster wants to tear that apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. The game introduces meaningful consequences for mistakes, a rarity in modern racers that often include a rewind button to erase errors. In *Galactic Racer*, crashing too often forces the player back to the start, though some meta‑progression carries over, giving a sense of weight to each failure. The design philosophy draws heavily from roguelike titles such as *Hades*, *Returnal* and *Slay the Spire*.
Those games are engineered for infinite replayability, a quality that meshes naturally with racing, a genre that thrives on repeated attempts to shave off fractions of a second. Webster says the crash mechanic is meant to make players weigh risk versus reward: “When you’re on your last crash and the systems are critical, you feel the tension and you start thinking about the gamble you’re taking.” This approach represents a bold departure from the hand‑holding that has become common in AAA releases. Release timing is also a strategic consideration. *Galactic Racer* is slated for launch on October 6, well before the highly anticipated *GTA 6* drops on November 19, yet after other major titles such as *Control: Resonance* and *Silent Hill: Townfall* (both September 24).
Webster acknowledges the crowded pre‑holiday window but notes that the industry has seen even busier schedules in the past. “People used to call September ‘murderer’s row,’ and October was always packed,” he recalls. “We have a healthy confidence, tempered with a realistic view of how things might turn out.” The conversation inevitably turns to the current wave of layoffs across the sector. Webster, who has witnessed a similar downsizing period fifteen years ago, argues that great teams produce great games, and great games find their audiences.
He sees the current risk‑averse climate as an opening for studios willing to take calculated bets. “When you shy away from risk, you limit opportunity,” he says.
“Those who embrace it can carve out space for themselves.” Funding, however, has not been easy. Starting an independent studio in 2023 was met with skepticism: “People were like, ‘You’re brave doing an indie studio now,’” Webster remembers. After 32 years at EA, he had to adopt a new mindset. He leans on principles he’s learned—building a solid team, refining a creative vision, and maintaining discipline while accepting that plans will always be imperfect.
“Engaged, motivated talent creates great things; it’s our job to keep them inspired.” Fuse Games remains relatively small for a project of AAA scope, employing roughly 75 people. This size is intentional; the studio avoids the typical “grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink” cycle by leveraging external partners for additional capacity. Webster describes a hybrid model that blends pure outsourcing (transactional asset creation) with co‑development, where external studios become extensions of the core team—participating in stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even sharing codebases. He highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations, noting that today’s studios are eager to work across multiple projects, keeping their workforce fresh and motivated.
According to Webster, this blended approach proves that a AAA‑level game can be delivered on a sustainable budget without the massive, ever‑fluctuating staff counts that have plagued many large publishers. The rapid development timeline of *Galactic Racer*—starting Fuse in January 2023 and delivering a finished product in just three and a half years on Unreal Engine 5—serves as evidence that the model works. Another striking aspect of Fuse’s strategy is its emphasis on younger talent.
While the studio includes veteran Criterion alumni, many of its developers are newcomers to the industry; one producer has never worked on a game before. Webster praises this fresh perspective: “Our young talent is often smarter and more effective than I was at that age.
We’ve seen greater success with them than with some senior hires.” He observes that seasoned developers sometimes prefer senior colleagues who require minimal interaction, a mindset that can stifle growth. By nurturing junior staff, Fuse hopes to build a more dynamic, collaborative environment. Looking ahead, Webster envisions an intern program to further cultivate emerging talent, though he cautions that the studio is still pre‑revenue. He draws on Criterion’s successful internship initiatives as a model, acknowledging that developing talent comes with costs but can pay dividends in creativity and loyalty.
Reflecting on a period a few years ago when the industry was flush with capital, Webster notes that many developers received funding simply because they had a hit title, only to discover that building a sustainable studio is far more challenging than it appears. He criticizes the industry’s lingering fascination with the myth of the “single creative visionary,” calling it “bullshit.” In reality, he argues, games are the product of collaborative effort.
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 new opportunities while staying flexible and adaptable—qualities he believes are essential for independent developers navigating today’s unpredictable market.