Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started at EA in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years at Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed, before EA absorbed the company in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster, together with fellow Criterion alumni Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to strike out on their own and launch the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Three and a half years later the fledgling studio 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 experience – 2002’s Racer Revenge – and it does so in a market where traditional racing games have lost some of their shine. Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for the upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis noting that the project didn’t seem to fit the current market landscape.
Criterion itself has pivoted away from pure racing, focusing instead on the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars‑themed racing adventure. “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 and reading our articles suggests we’re not alone.” He argues that video‑game genres are cyclical.
After a period dominated by shooters, other types inevitably rise again. “As more and more people play video games, even the tiniest of niches find a bigger audience,” Webster said.
Players, he believes, are craving “fun, interesting, compelling new experiences they haven’t seen before,” and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that fresh take. The vision for Galactic Racer is deliberately arcade‑centric, aiming for instant gratification while also exploring what’s possible when a game is no longer limited by realistic tyres and tarmac. “We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano,” Webster explained.
“It’s a roller‑coaster at times.” Beyond the high‑octane thrills, the game seeks to upend long‑standing racing conventions. Most racing titles have relied on a car‑collection model for the past two decades; Fuse wants to tear that formula apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One of the most striking innovations is the emphasis on consequential decision‑making, particularly around crashes. In many modern racers a rewind button removes any penalty for a mistake, but Galactic Racer re‑introduces risk.
“When you crash too many times you’re sent back to the start,” Webster said, “but you keep some meta‑progression, so you begin from a slightly stronger position. The final crash feels weighty – you’re forced to consider the risk you’re taking.” This design philosophy draws inspiration from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire, games built around infinite replayability. “Racing thrives on replayability, so pairing it with roguelike loops feels like a match made in heaven.” The result is a game that rewards skill, strategic risk assessment and a willingness to learn from failure – a bold departure from the hand‑holding common in many AAA releases.
Webster acknowledges the timing is tricky: Galactic Racer launches on October 6, a respectable gap before the highly anticipated GTA 6 drops on November 19, yet still close to other major releases like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall (both September 24). He notes that crowded pre‑Christmas windows are nothing new. “People used to call September ‘murderer’s row,’ and October has always been busy,” he recalled.
“We have a healthy confidence, tempered by a realistic view of how things might turn out.” Webster’s optimism is tempered by the broader industry context, especially the wave of layoffs that has swept through studios in recent years. Having lived through a similar contraction fifteen years ago, he sees a pattern: great teams create great games, and great games find audiences.
He warns that the current climate is risk‑averse, which can stifle innovation. “When you’re unwilling to take calculated risks, you limit opportunity,” he said. Yet he also points out that taking those risks can open doors for independent creators willing to push boundaries.
Funding, however, has not been a walk in the park. Starting a new studio in 2023 was seen as “brave” by many investors.
Webster admits that after thirty‑two years at EA, he was accustomed to a bubble of resources that independent developers rarely enjoy. He emphasizes a core set of principles: build a great team, refine a clear creative vision, maintain discipline in planning (while accepting that plans are always imperfect), and stay true to values. Engaged, motivated talent, he believes, is the engine that drives exceptional games.
Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core of about 75 staff – a deliberate choice to avoid the boom‑and‑bust staffing cycles that plague larger studios. Instead, the studio leans on external development partners to fill gaps, ranging from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full co‑development where external studios sit in on stand‑ups, Slack channels and even share codebases. Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations. “In the past, other companies would help you only grudgingly, but now there are firms that actively seek diverse projects and enjoy working with different teams.” According to Webster, this hybrid model proves that a AAA‑scale game – in terms of scope, visual fidelity and ambition – can be delivered on a sustainable budget when a small, permanent core is augmented by trusted partners who share the same values.
The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer underscores this point: Fuse launched in January 2023, and three and a half years later they have built a studio, assembled a team, learned Unreal Engine 5 from scratch and delivered a polished title. An interesting dynamic within Fuse is the blend of veteran Criterion talent and a wave of younger developers.
One of the producers on Galactic Racer had never worked in games before joining the project. Webster is enthusiastic about this youthful energy: “They are smarter and more effective in many ways than I was at that age. We’ve had greater success with our young talent than with some of the senior hires we’ve brought in.” He observes that seasoned developers often prefer to work alongside peers of similar experience, which can limit mentorship opportunities. By pivoting recruitment toward fresh talent, Fuse hopes to cultivate a culture of growth and mutual motivation.
Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to nurture the next generation of creators, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue and must be realistic about the costs involved. He reflects on a period five or six years ago when the industry was flush with capital, and many successful developers were encouraged to spin off their own studios. In hindsight, he believes that money would have been better allocated to strong teams rather than to the myth of a singular “creative visionary.” He calls that notion “fucking bullshit,” emphasizing that games are collaborative endeavors. As for Fuse’s future beyond Galactic Racer, Webster says the launch is just the beginning.
The studio is already brainstorming potential follow‑up projects, but as an independent developer they must remain flexible and adaptable to market conditions. The combination of a compact core team, external partnerships, and a willingness to experiment with genre conventions positions Fuse Games to navigate the ever‑shifting landscape of the video‑game industry while delivering experiences that resonate with both niche enthusiasts and mainstream audiences.