Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay inside Electronic Arts. He arrived at the company in 1990 and, after nearly twenty years, helped shape the Criterion titles Burnout and Need for Speed—properties EA acquired in 2004. Yet in early 2023 Webster, together with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to break away and launch an independent studio in the United Kingdom called Fuse Games.
Just over three years later the fledgling team is poised to ship its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which will be published by the newly independent label Secret Mode. The timing is noteworthy. The last Star Wars‑themed racing game, Racer Revenge, hit shelves in 2002—over two decades ago.
In the intervening years the racing genre has struggled to retain mainstream attention. Amazon recently cancelled a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for a forthcoming driving title called Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis remarking 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 remains convinced there is a viable audience for a Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly think there’s a fanbase for a Star Wars‑themed racer,” he told GamesIndustry.biz.
“We’re not the only ones who feel that way; the comments we get on our videos and articles suggest a broader appetite.” He points out that entertainment trends are cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other genres inevitably resurface. “As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger audience,” he added.
Webster believes players today are craving fresh, compelling experiences that feel novel. He sees Galactic Racer as a vehicle for that ambition. “We want to deliver something fun, interesting, and unlike anything people have seen before,” he explained.
The studio deliberately leaned into the instant‑gratification of arcade racing while also asking, “What can we do when we’re no longer 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 environments that defy conventional physics. Beyond the high‑octane thrills, Galactic Racer seeks to upend long‑standing genre conventions. Most racing games rely on a car‑collection model that has changed little in twenty years.
Webster wants to rip that formula apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One key innovation is the re‑introduction of meaningful consequences for crashes. In many modern racers a rewind button nullifies mistakes, but Fuse wants each collision to matter.
“If you crash too many times you’re sent back to the start, but you retain some meta‑progression that puts you in a stronger position,” he said. “When you’re on your last life, you really feel the risk you’re taking.” The design philosophy draws heavily from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire—games built around infinite replayability.
“Racing thrives on replay value, so marrying it with roguelike loops feels like a match made in heaven,” Webster noted. This hybrid approach encourages players to experiment, learn from failure, and keep coming back for new runs, each with subtle variations. Launching on October 6, Galactic Racer lands a month before the highly anticipated GTA 6, which is slated for November 19. The release window also follows other major titles like Control Resonant and Silent Hill: Townfall, both arriving on September 24.
While some industry observers warn that September is a crowded month, Webster recalls that even October has historically been jam‑packed—calling it “murderer’s row” in earlier years. He acknowledges the competition but says Fuse Games approaches it with a “healthy confidence” tempered by realism. “Good games find a way,” he affirmed, echoing a mantra that has guided him through multiple industry cycles.
Webster’s perspective is shaped by his long tenure and the recent wave of layoffs across the sector. He notes that great teams make great games, and great games attract audiences. Yet he also observes a growing aversion to risk among larger publishers, which creates openings for studios willing to take calculated bets. “If you’re not willing to gamble, you limit your opportunities,” he warned.
Funding, however, remains a hurdle for new independent studios. When Fuse launched in early 2023, many questioned the wisdom of starting a studio in a tight financing climate.
Webster recalled the skepticism: “People said, ‘You’re brave doing an indie studio in 2023.’” After 32 years at EA, he found himself navigating a new reality, relying on core principles: building a strong team, refining a clear creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning—while accepting that any plan is provisional and must be iterated. Fuse’s team is relatively lean for a AAA‑scale project, numbering around 75 staff. This size is intentional; the studio aims to avoid the boom‑and‑bust cycle of rapid expansion and contraction that plagues many developers. Instead, Fuse augments its core with external partners, ranging from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to deep co‑development relationships where outside studios attend daily stand‑ups, share Slack channels, and contribute directly to the code base.
Webster highlighted the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a key advantage, noting that today’s external studios are eager collaborators rather than reluctant contractors. According to Webster, this hybrid model—small permanent core plus trusted external partners—offers a sustainable path to delivering AAA‑level scope, scale and visual fidelity on a reasonable budget.
The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer illustrates the model’s efficacy: Fuse was founded in January 2023, and within three and a half years they built a studio, assembled a team, learned Unreal Engine 5 from scratch, and produced a full‑featured game. The studio’s talent mix also reflects a deliberate shift toward younger developers.
While several Criterion veterans are present, many team members are fresh faces, and one producer had never worked in games before joining Fuse. Webster praised this youthful energy, saying they often outperform more senior hires in creativity and efficiency. He argued that nurturing young talent is as motivating for senior staff as it is for newcomers, prompting Fuse to adjust its recruitment strategy accordingly.
Looking ahead, Webster hopes to establish an internship program to further develop emerging talent, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue and financially cautious. He cited Criterion’s successful intern pipeline as an inspiration, while acknowledging the costs associated with training new staff.
Reflecting on the industry’s past excesses, Webster recalled a time when successful games generated abundant funding for spin‑off studios, only for many founders to discover that running a studio is far tougher than anticipated. He criticized the industry’s lingering fixation on a single “creative visionary,” calling the notion “bullshit.” In his view, games are collaborative creations, not the product of solitary geniuses.
As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster remains flexible. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning; the studio is open to exploring new opportunities and ideas, but will continue to adapt to the realities of independent development. He summed up his outlook with a simple, hopeful line: “Good games will find a way, and we’re hoping ours does too.”