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 iconic franchises such as Burnout and Need for Speed while working at Criterion, the studio 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 UK studio called Fuse Games. Three and a half years later the fledgling company 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‑themed racing game, 2002’s Racer Revenge, and it does so at a time 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 title 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 shifted its focus away from pure racing and now contributes to the Battlefield franchise.
Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced that a market exists 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 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. “We went through a phase where shooters dominated everything, but that’s not the only cycle.
As more people play games, even the tiniest niches can find a sizable audience.” According to Webster, gamers are hungry for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen before," and he believes Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The studio set out to capture the instant‑gratification feel of classic arcade racers while also asking, “What can we do when we’re no longer bound by tyres and tarmac?” The answer, he says, is tracks that climb the side of an active volcano and courses that feel like roller‑coasters, pushing the boundaries of what a racing environment can look like. Beyond the high‑octane thrills, Galactic Racer is designed to upend long‑standing conventions of the genre. Most racing games have relied on a car‑collection model for the past two decades.
Webster wants to tear that formula apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One of the most radical changes is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashing. In many modern racers, a rewind button erases any penalty, 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 that puts you in a stronger position," he explains. "When you’re on your last crash, you feel the weight of the risk you’re taking." This approach 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 design feels like a match made in heaven," Webster adds.
The decision to embed consequence and progression into a racing loop is a deliberate departure from the hand‑holding that has become common in AAA titles. Webster acknowledges the crowded launch window of 2024—GTA VI is slated for November 19, while September saw releases like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall.
Galactic Racer’s launch on October 6 lands comfortably between those dates, but the market is still dense. "Someone said September looks busy, but I remember the old ‘murderers’ row’ in October when the calendar was packed," he recalls. "We have a healthy confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things may turn out. Good games will find a way.” Webster’s perspective on risk and opportunity is shaped by his long tenure in the industry, including the wave of layoffs that has swept through studios in recent years.
He notes that great teams make great games, and great games find audiences. "What we’re seeing now is an aversion to risk, which actually creates openings for those willing to take calculated bets," he says. "If you play it too safe, you limit your chances.” Starting an independent studio in 2023 has not been without challenges.
Funding was scarce, and many questioned the wisdom of launching a new studio after three decades at EA. Webster describes the experience as stepping out of a bubble and relying on core principles: building a talented team, refining a clear creative vision, and maintaining discipline while staying adaptable. "The plan is always wrong, but it’s the best version you have today," he says, emphasizing the need to review, adapt, and stay true to values. Fuse Games operates with a relatively small core team—around 75 people—by design.
Rather than expanding and contracting staff in the traditional AAA fashion, the studio leans on external development partners to fill gaps. This hybrid model blends pure outsourcing (transactional asset creation) with co‑development, where external studios become extensions of the internal team, joining daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and code repositories. Webster highlights the UK’s mature game‑development ecosystem as ideal for such collaboration, noting that today’s studios are eager to work on diverse projects with different teams, keeping talent fresh and motivated. According to Webster, this approach proves that a AAA‑scale game—by scope, visual fidelity and ambition—can be produced on a sustainable budget when a lean core team partners with trusted external groups that 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 the team has built a studio, assembled a team, and delivered a UE5‑powered game despite initially not knowing the engine. "It feels like an achievement, and we’ve done it in a healthy, sustainable way," he says. The studio’s talent mix is another point of pride.
While several veteran Criterion staff are present, many younger developers have joined the project, including a producer who had never worked in games before. "The young talent we’ve got is smarter and more effective in many ways than I was at that age," Webster observes. He believes nurturing junior staff is more beneficial than relying solely on seasoned developers who may prefer to work independently without much interaction.
This philosophy has led Fuse to pivot its hiring strategy toward fresh, motivated talent. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to further develop young creators, though he acknowledges that Fuse is still pre‑revenue. He cites Criterion’s successful intern initiatives as a model and stresses the importance of recognizing the costs involved in cultivating new talent. Reflecting on the industry’s earlier period of abundant funding, he recalls how many developers who received backing to start their own studios discovered the harsh reality that building a sustainable business is far tougher than it appears.
He criticizes the industry’s lingering fixation on the myth of the "single creative visionary," calling it "bullshit" and insisting that games are fundamentally collaborative endeavors. As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster admits the future is still being written. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and the studio remains open to exploring new opportunities while staying flexible and adaptable—qualities he believes are essential for independent developers in today’s ever‑changing market.