Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He began his tenure at EA in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years contributing to the celebrated Burnout and Need for Speed franchises through Criterion, the studio EA acquired in 2004.
In early 2023, however, Webster, alongside former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to strike out on their own, founding the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Three and a half years later the fledgling studio is poised to launch its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, under the banner of the newly autonomous publisher Secret Mode.
Galactic Racer arrives roughly 24 years after the last Star Wars‑themed racing game, 2002’s Racer Revenge, and it does so at a time when the racing genre has lost some of its mainstream momentum. Recent industry headlines illustrate the shift: Amazon withdrew from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis remarking that the market simply didn’t have room for another racer.
Criterion itself has pivoted away from pure racing projects to focus on the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced that a demand exists for a high‑octane Star Wars racing experience. "Clearly we 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 our videos and articles suggests we’re not alone." He argues that video‑game genres are inherently cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other types inevitably resurface. As the global player base expands, even the most niche interests can gather a sizable following. Webster believes gamers are hungry for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen before," and he sees Galactic Racer as a vehicle for that promise.
The design philosophy at Fuse centers on delivering the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also asking, "What can we do when we’re no longer tied to tyres and tarmac?" The answer, according to Webster, is to imagine tracks that climb the sides of active volcanoes, twist through gravity‑defying loops, and feel more like roller‑coasters than conventional circuits. This emphasis on spectacle is paired with a deeper ambition: to upend long‑standing racing conventions. Traditionally, racing games have relied on a car‑collection model that has changed little in two decades. Webster wants to rip that model apart and borrow mechanics from other genres.
One of the most radical departures is the incorporation of meaningful consequences for player mistakes. In many modern racers, a rewind button erases the sting of crashing, but Galactic Racer re‑introduces risk.
A player who crashes repeatedly is sent back to the start of a run, yet they retain a sliver of meta‑progression that makes the next attempt slightly stronger. This risk‑reward loop forces players to weigh each maneuver carefully, especially when they’re on their final allowable crash. The system draws inspiration from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire—games built around infinite replayability and procedural variation. "Racing thrives on replayability," Webster notes, "so marrying it with roguelike principles feels like a match made in heaven." Launching the game on October 6 places it between several heavyweight releases.
Grand Theft Auto VI is slated for November 19, while September saw the debut of Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall. Some industry observers warned that September would be a crowded month, but Webster recalls past years when October was dubbed "murderer’s row" because of its dense launch schedule.
He acknowledges the competition but says Fuse approaches it with a "healthy sense of confidence" tempered by realism. "Good games find a way," he says, echoing a mantra that has guided his long career. Webster also reflects on the wave of layoffs sweeping the sector.
Having witnessed a similar contraction a decade and a half ago, he emphasizes that great teams produce great games, and great games attract audiences. He argues that the industry’s current aversion to risk actually creates openings for studios willing to make calculated bets. However, he admits that founding an independent studio in 2023 has not been without hurdles. Securing funding proved difficult; many investors questioned the wisdom of launching a new studio after three decades at EA.
Webster’s response was to lean on core principles: assemble a talented team, articulate a clear creative vision, and maintain disciplined planning while staying adaptable. Fuse’s team is deliberately lean—about 75 people—far smaller than a typical AAA development house.
Rather than scaling the core staff up and down, the studio relies heavily on external partners to fill skill gaps. This hybrid model blends transactional outsourcing for asset creation with deeper co‑development relationships where external studios attend daily stand‑ups, join Slack channels, and contribute directly to the codebase. Webster points out that the UK’s mature game‑development ecosystem makes such collaboration especially effective, as many studios now welcome cross‑project work rather than guarding their talent jealously. According to Webster, this approach proves that a AAA‑level game can be delivered on a sustainable budget without the wasteful bloat that has plagued many large‑scale projects.
The rapid timeline of Galactic Racer—conceived in January 2023, built on Unreal Engine 5, and ready for launch in just over three years—demonstrates the viability of the model. Another notable aspect of Fuse’s strategy is its emphasis on nurturing younger developers.
While the studio includes several Criterion veterans, many of its contributors are fresh faces, some of whom have never worked in the industry before. Webster praises their ingenuity, saying they often outperform more senior colleagues in creativity and efficiency.
He observes that seasoned developers sometimes prefer to work alongside peers of similar seniority, which can limit mentorship opportunities. By deliberately recruiting and empowering younger talent, Fuse hopes to foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation. Looking ahead, Webster envisions an intern program to further cultivate emerging talent, though he cautions that the studio is still pre‑revenue and must balance ambition with financial reality. He recalls a period five or six years ago when abundant funding allowed successful developers to spin off their own studios, only to discover the challenges of sustaining a new venture.
That era, he argues, placed too much emphasis on the myth of the "single creative visionary"—a notion he calls "fucking bullshit." In reality, games are collaborative endeavors, built by teams of individuals. As for Fuse’s next steps beyond Galactic Racer, the future remains fluid.
The studio plans to treat the launch as the beginning of a longer journey, remaining open to new opportunities and ideas. Webster stresses that independent developers must stay adaptable in a market that can shift overnight.
With a solid foundation, a committed team, and a willingness to experiment, Fuse Games aims to continue pushing boundaries—whether that means expanding the Star Wars racing universe or venturing into entirely new genres.