Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started at the company in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years contributing to the legendary Burnout and Need for Speed franchises while they were under the umbrella of Criterion, the studio EA acquired in 2004. Yet in early 2023 Webster, together with fellow Criterion alumni Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to step away and launch their own independent venture, Fuse Games, based in the United Kingdom.
Just over three years later the fledgling studio is poised to release its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, a partnership with the newly independent publisher Secret Mode. The timing of Galactic Racer’s arrival is noteworthy.
The last Star Wars‑themed racing game, Racer Revenge, hit shelves in 2002 – a full twenty‑four years ago. In the intervening decades, pure racing games have struggled to maintain mainstream appeal. Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for a forthcoming driving title called Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis explaining that the market simply didn’t seem to fit the project.
Meanwhile Criterion, once the go‑to studio for high‑octane racers, has shifted its focus to the Battlefield franchise, leaving a noticeable void in the genre. Despite these signals, Webster is convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly believe there’s a market for a Star Wars‑based racer,” he told GamesIndustry.biz.
“We’re not the only ones thinking that, and the reaction we get from our videos and articles suggests we’re not alone.” He points out that gaming trends are cyclical. “Shooters dominated for a while, but that’s just one phase.
As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger following.” Webster says modern players are craving "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen before," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The studio set out to capture the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also asking, “What could we do if we weren’t limited 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 over‑the‑top set‑pieces that would be impossible in a realistic driving sim.
Beyond the spectacle, Galactic Racer aims to upend long‑standing genre conventions. Most racing games have relied on a static car‑collection model for the past two decades. Webster wants to rip that formula apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One key innovation is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashing.
In many modern racers a rewind button nullifies mistakes, but Fuse wants crashes to matter. "If you crash too many times you’re sent back to the start, but you keep some meta‑progression," he explains. "That creates tension: on your last allowed crash you really feel the risk." The game’s structure also draws inspiration from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire – games built around infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability, so marrying it with roguelike loops feels like a match made in heaven," Webster says.
This design choice encourages players to experiment, learn from each run, and gradually improve, rather than relying on a single, linear career mode. Launching on October 6, Galactic Racer lands a month before the highly anticipated GTA 6 release (scheduled for November 19) and shortly after other major October launches like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall (both on September 24).
Some industry observers warned that September would be a crowded month, but Webster recalls that even in the past, October was historically packed with releases – the infamous “Murderer’s Row” of games. He acknowledges the competition but remains confident, describing Fuse’s outlook as “healthy confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things may turn out.” Webster’s optimism is rooted in a longer‑term perspective on the industry’s cyclical nature. He reflects on the wave of layoffs that has swept through game development in recent years, noting that great teams produce great games, and great games find audiences.
"There’s a lot of risk‑aversion right now," he observes, "which actually creates opportunities for studios willing to take calculated bets. If you shy away from risk, you limit yourself." Funding, however, has not been easy.
Starting an independent studio in 2023, after thirty‑two years at EA, felt like stepping into a bubble and emerging into a harsh reality. "People said, ‘You’re brave doing an indie studio now,’" Webster recalls. The solution, he says, lies in adhering to core principles: building a strong, motivated team; refining a clear creative vision; and maintaining discipline while staying adaptable. He stresses that a small, cohesive core team can be more effective than a massive, fluctuating workforce.
Fuse Games currently employs roughly 75 people – a modest size for a title with AAA ambitions. Rather than expanding and contracting staff, the studio relies heavily on external development partners. This hybrid model blends transactional outsourcing (pure asset creation) with deep co‑development, where external studios join daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even the codebase. Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a key advantage, noting that today many studios are eager to collaborate across projects, keeping talent fresh and motivated.
According to Webster, this approach proves that a AAA‑scale game can be delivered on a sustainable budget when the core team remains small and trustworthy partners fill the gaps. The rapid development timeline – Fuse was founded in January 2023 and has a finished product in just three and a half years, built on Unreal Engine 5, a tool none of the founders had previously mastered – serves as evidence that the model works.
Another striking aspect of Fuse’s story is its blend of veteran expertise and youthful energy. While the studio includes several Criterion veterans, many of its developers are newcomers, some even without prior game‑development experience. "Our young talent is incredibly smart and effective, often surpassing what I could achieve at their age," Webster says. He argues that nurturing junior staff not only drives innovation but also creates a more engaging work environment.
In contrast, seasoned developers sometimes prefer senior colleagues who require minimal interaction, which Webster believes can stifle growth. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to further cultivate emerging talent, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue and must be prudent 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 handed funding to start their own studios – only to discover how difficult it truly is.
"The money should have gone to great teams, not just to superstar ‘creative visionaries,’" he says, calling the myth of the lone genius "complete bullshit." In reality, games are collaborative creations. As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster remains non‑committal. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and the studio is open to exploring new opportunities while staying flexible.
"Independent developers today need to be adaptable," he concludes. "We have ideas for the future, but we’ll let the market and our own growth dictate the path forward."