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 hits for Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed, until EA’s acquisition of Criterion in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster teamed up with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant to launch an independent UK studio, Fuse Games.
Just three and a half years later, Fuse is preparing to ship 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 moment when the racing genre has generally slipped out of the mainstream spotlight. 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 market didn’t seem to need another racer.
Meanwhile, Criterion itself has shifted focus from pure racing experiences to the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars‑styled racing adventure.
“We clearly see an appetite for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “Our community, the people who watch our videos and read our posts, suggest we’re not alone in this belief.” Webster points out that genres tend to be cyclical.
After a period dominated by shooters, other types of games inevitably resurface. "As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches find a bigger audience," he explains. He believes gamers are craving "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences they haven’t seen before," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that.
The design philosophy behind the game embraces the instant‑gratification feel of classic arcade racers while also asking, "What can we do when we’re not limited by tyres and tarmac?" The answer, according to Webster, includes wildly imaginative tracks that climb the sides of active volcanoes and behave like roller‑coasters. Yet the ambition goes deeper than flashy set‑pieces. Fuse wants to upend long‑standing conventions in the racing genre, especially the entrenched model of car collection that has persisted for two decades.
"Let’s rip that up and borrow ideas from other genres," he says. One of those borrowed ideas is the notion of meaningful consequence, a concept often muted in modern racers by the presence of rewind or respawn mechanics. In Galactic Racer, crashing carries weight: too many crashes send you back to the start, though you retain a measure of meta‑progression that makes you slightly more powerful on the next attempt. This risk‑reward loop forces players to weigh each maneuver carefully, especially when they’re down to their final crash.
Webster likens the game’s structure to roguelikes such as Hades, Returnal, and Slay the Spire—titles built around infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability, so marrying it with roguelike principles feels like a match made in heaven," he notes. Launching the game on October 6 places it between several heavyweight releases.
Grand Theft Auto VI is slated for November 19, while September 24 saw the launches of Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall. Some industry observers warned that September would be a crowded window, but Webster recalls past years when October was the busiest month of the calendar, dubbing it “murderers’ row.” He admits the market is competitive, yet Fuse Games approaches it with a “healthy sense of confidence” balanced by a realistic appraisal of possible outcomes.
"Good games will find a way," he says, echoing a mantra that has guided him through multiple waves of industry layoffs. Webster reflects on the broader climate of risk aversion in the sector. He argues that when studios shy away from bold bets, opportunities open up for those willing to take calculated risks. However, building an independent studio in 2023 has not been without hurdles.
Securing funding proved difficult; many questioned the wisdom of launching a new studio after a 32‑year tenure at EA. Webster’s answer was to lean on core principles: assemble a passionate team, refine a clear creative vision, and maintain disciplined planning—while accepting that plans will inevitably evolve. Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core of about 75 staff, a deliberate choice to avoid the typical “grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink” cycle that plagues many AAA projects.
Instead, the studio supplements its capabilities through external development partners. These collaborations range from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full‑fledged co‑development where external studios sit in on daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even share the code base.
Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as especially conducive to such partnerships, noting a cultural shift where studios now willingly collaborate rather than begrudgingly help each other out of necessity. The result, he believes, is a sustainable model for AAA‑scale production on a more manageable budget. The speed of Galactic Racer’s development underscores this point: Fuse was founded in January 2023, and in just three and a half years the team built a studio, assembled a team, learned Unreal Engine 5 from scratch, and delivered a full‑fledged game.
"It feels like an achievement, and we did it in a healthy, sustainable way," Webster says. A notable aspect of Fuse’s workforce is the infusion of younger talent alongside seasoned veterans. Some producers on the project had never worked in games before. Webster praises the fresh perspectives of these newcomers, stating they often outperform older colleagues in creativity and efficiency.
He argues that nurturing young developers is more beneficial than relying solely on senior staff who may prefer minimal interaction. The studio is even considering an internship program to further cultivate emerging talent, though he cautions that such initiatives require a clear understanding of the costs involved.
Looking back to a period five or six years ago when the industry was flush with cash, Webster recalls how many successful teams received funding to spin off their own studios, only to discover the reality was far tougher than anticipated. He criticizes the lingering myth of the “lone creative visionary,” calling it "bullshit" and emphasizing that games are always the product of collaborative effort.
As for what lies ahead for Fuse Games, Webster admits the roadmap is still forming. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the first step, and the studio remains open to exploring new opportunities and ideas. Flexibility and adaptability, he says, are essential for any independent developer navigating today’s ever‑changing market.