Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within Electronic Arts. He started at the company in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years developing titles for Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed that EA acquired 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 studio in the United Kingdom called Fuse Games. Just over three years later the fledgling studio is poised to ship 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‑themed racing game – 2002’s Racer Revenge – and it does so at a moment when the racing genre has largely slipped out of the mainstream spotlight.
Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for a forthcoming driving title called Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis stating, “we didn’t see a real fit in the market for that game.” Meanwhile Criterion itself has pivoted away from pure racing projects to focus on the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still demand for a Star Wars racing experience. “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, and the response we get from people watching our videos and reading our articles suggests we’re not alone.” He adds that genres tend to be cyclical: “We went through a phase where shooters dominated, but that’s not the only genre.
As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches find a bigger audience.” Webster believes gamers are hungry for fresh, compelling experiences that they haven’t seen before, and he sees Galactic Racer as delivering exactly that. The team set out to capture the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also asking, “What can we do once we’re no longer tied to tyres and tarmac?” The answer, he explains, is tracks that climb the side of an active volcano, courses that feel like roller‑coasters, and other over‑the‑top environments that would be impossible in a realistic simulation. Beyond the high‑octane thrills, Galactic Racer deliberately subverts long‑standing racing conventions. Most racing games have relied on a static car‑collection model for the past two decades.
Webster wants to tear that apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One key innovation is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashes.
In many modern racers a “rewind” button erases failure, but Fuse wants those mistakes to matter. “If you crash too often you’re sent back to the start, but you keep some meta‑progression that puts you in a stronger position,” he explains. “When you’re on your last crash and the system is critical, you really feel the risk you’re taking.” The design philosophy draws heavily from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire, which are built around infinite replayability. “Racing thrives on replayability, so mixing it with roguelike loops feels like a match made in heaven,” Webster says.
Each run encourages players to experiment with different ship builds, shortcuts and risk‑taking strategies, turning every race into a fresh puzzle rather than a repetitive grind. Launching the game on October 6 places it between two major industry events: Rockstar’s long‑awaited GTA 6, slated for November 19, and a crowded September window that includes releases like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall (September 24). Webster acknowledges the competition but points out that crowded launch windows are nothing new.
“People used to call October ‘murderers’ row’ because it was so packed,” he recalls. “We have a healthy confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things may turn out.” When asked about the wave of layoffs sweeping the sector, Webster reflects on his own long tenure.
He remembers a similar downsizing period fifteen years ago and notes a recurring truth: great teams make great games, and great games find an audience. “There’s a lot of aversion to risk right now,” he observes. “That creates opportunities for those willing to take calculated bets.
If you’re overly cautious, you limit yourself.” Funding an independent studio in 2023 has not been easy. “People told me I was brave for starting an indie studio now,” Webster says.
After 32 years at EA, he found himself in a bubble and had to relearn the fundamentals of building a business: assemble a talented team, refine a creative vision, create a disciplined plan (knowing it will always be imperfect), and stay true to core values while adapting as needed. He emphasizes that engaged, motivated talent is the engine of great games. Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core – about 75 people – a deliberate choice to avoid the industry’s typical “grow‑shrink‑grow” staffing cycles. Instead, the studio leans on external partners for additional capacity.
“We use trusted partners who share our values to scale up when needed, rather than constantly expanding and contracting our own staff,” Webster explains. The external work ranges from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full co‑development, where partner studios join Fuse’s daily stand‑ups, Slack channels and codebase as if they were an internal extension. The UK, in particular, offers a fertile environment for this collaborative model.
The country’s mature game‑development ecosystem now includes studios eager to work on diverse projects, keeping their teams fresh and excited. “In the past, companies would only help you out grudgingly because they needed the cash,” Webster notes. “Now there’s a culture of partnership and shared ambition.” Webster believes this hybrid approach – a small permanent core plus flexible external talent – can deliver AAA‑level scope, scale and visual fidelity on a sustainable budget.
The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer proves the model works: Fuse was founded in January 2023, and three and a half years later the team has built a studio, assembled a workforce, and created a game in Unreal Engine 5 despite none of them having prior UE5 experience. “It feels like an achievement, and we did it in a healthy, sustainable way,” he says. Another noteworthy aspect of Fuse’s strategy is its focus on nurturing younger developers.
Many of the people working on Galactic Racer are fresh faces; one producer has never worked in games before. “The young talent we’ve brought in is often smarter and more effective than I was at that age,” Webster admits.
He observes that seasoned veterans sometimes prefer to work alongside peers of similar seniority, which can limit mentorship opportunities. By deliberately hiring and empowering younger staff, Fuse creates a culture of growth and mutual motivation.
Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to further develop emerging talent, though he cautions that the studio is still pre‑revenue. He cites Criterion’s successful intern pipelines as a model and acknowledges the costs involved in cultivating new developers. Reflecting on the industry’s past excesses, he argues that funding should have been directed toward strong teams rather than glorified “single creative visionaries,” a notion he calls “bullshit.” In reality, games are collaborative creations.
As for Fuse’s next steps, the studio remains flexible. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and while they have ideas for future projects, they understand the need to stay adaptable in an ever‑changing market. Webster concludes with a pragmatic optimism: “Good games will find a way, and we’re hoping ours does too.”