Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He began his tenure at EA in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years contributing to the Burnout and Need for Speed franchises while they were under the umbrella of Criterion, which EA acquired in 2004.
In early 2023, however, Webster, together with fellow Criterion alumni Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires, and Alan McDairmant, decided to strike out on their own and launch the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Just over three years later, the fledgling studio is poised to release its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, a project published by the newly autonomous label Secret Mode. Galactic Racer arrives roughly 24 years after the last Star Wars racing game—2002’s Racer Revenge—at a time when the racing genre has generally slipped out of the mainstream spotlight.
Recent industry moves underscore this trend: Amazon withdrew from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis stating that the game didn’t fit the market. Meanwhile, Criterion itself has shifted focus away from racing, redirecting its resources toward the Battlefield franchise.
Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a viable audience for a Star Wars‑themed racing experience. “We clearly believe there’s a market for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “We’re not the only ones thinking that, and the reaction we get from people watching our videos and reading our articles suggests we’re not alone.” He points out that genres tend to be cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other types of games inevitably resurface as player tastes evolve.
“As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger audience,” he added. Webster argues that gamers are hungry for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen before," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The team 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 sides of active volcanoes and courses that feel like roller‑coasters, offering thrills that go beyond conventional road‑based circuits.
Beyond the arcade spectacle, Galactic Racer seeks to upend long‑standing genre conventions. Traditionally, racing games revolve around collecting cars—a formula that has stayed largely unchanged for two decades.
Webster wants to tear that model apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One major innovation is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashing. In many modern racers, a rewind button erases mistakes, diluting risk. Fuse Games intends to re‑introduce stakes: excessive crashes send the player back to the start, though some meta‑progression carries over, placing them in a stronger position for subsequent attempts.
This risk‑reward loop is inspired by roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal, and Slay the Spire, which are built for infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability," Webster notes, "so combining it with roguelike principles feels like a perfect match." The game’s design encourages players to weigh each maneuver carefully.
When a crash is imminent, the player must decide whether to push forward and risk another failure or retreat to preserve their limited lives. This tension, Webster says, is a deliberate move away from the hand‑holding that has become common in many AAA releases. Timing the launch is another strategic consideration.
Galactic Racer is slated for October 6, positioning it well before the highly anticipated GTA 6 release on November 19, yet after other major titles such as Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall, which both debuted on September 24. While some industry observers worry that September is a crowded month, Webster recalls that historically, October has often been packed with releases—what he calls “murderers’ row.” He acknowledges the competition but maintains that Fuse Games approaches it with a “healthy sense of confidence” tempered by realistic expectations. Webster’s optimism is also shaped by his perspective on the current wave of layoffs across the industry. Having witnessed a similar contraction about fifteen years ago, he believes that strong teams create great games, and great games eventually find an audience.
He sees the current risk‑averse climate as an opening for studios willing to take calculated bets. “If you’re not willing to risk, you limit your opportunities,” he says. Funding, however, has not been a walk in the park. Starting a new studio in 2023, especially after a long tenure at a corporate giant like EA, presented challenges.
"People thought we were brave—or reckless—starting an independent studio now," Webster recalls. He emphasizes that the core principles he learned at EA—building a talented team, refining a clear creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning—remain essential, even if the plan is always imperfect and must be iterated upon. Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core team of around 75 people, a deliberate choice to avoid the boom‑and‑bust staffing cycles common in larger studios.
Instead of scaling up and down internally, Fuse outsources and co‑develops with trusted external partners. This hybrid model ranges from transactional asset creation to full‑fledged co‑development where external studios participate in daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and codebases, effectively becoming extensions of the core team. Webster highlights the UK’s mature game development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations. In the past, external studios might have been reluctant to assist, preferring to focus on their own projects.
Today, many companies actively seek diverse collaborations, keeping their talent motivated and fresh. The rapid development timeline for Galactic Racer—just three and a half years from Fuse’s founding to a near‑complete UE5‑powered title—demonstrates the viability of this approach. "We started Fuse in January 2023, and now we have a full‑scale AAA‑quality game built on technology none of us had mastered at the outset," Webster says proudly.
"We achieved this sustainably and healthily." A notable aspect of Fuse’s workforce is the blend of veteran Criterion staff with a wave of younger developers, some of whom are new to the industry entirely. One producer on Galactic Racer had never worked in games before. Webster is enthusiastic about this youthful energy: "Our young talent is often smarter and more effective than we were at that age.
It’s extraordinary. In many cases, we’ve seen greater success with younger developers than with senior hires from elsewhere." He observes that seasoned developers sometimes prefer senior colleagues who can work independently, which can limit mentorship opportunities.
By contrast, nurturing young talent creates a mutually motivating environment. Fuse has even begun to pivot its hiring strategy to prioritize this dynamic. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to further cultivate emerging talent, though he acknowledges the studio is still pre‑revenue. He cites Criterion’s successful intern initiatives as a model and stresses that any such program must be entered with clear eyes regarding the costs involved.
Reflecting on the industry’s past reliance on “superstar” creators, Webster dismisses the notion that a single visionary can carry a game. "That’s bullshit," he says. "Games are collaborative endeavors made by teams of individuals." As for Fuse’s future beyond Galactic Racer, Webster admits plans are still fluid.
The launch is just the beginning, and the studio remains open to new opportunities and ideas. Flexibility and adaptability, he notes, are essential qualities for independent developers navigating today’s market.
In summary, Matt Webster believes that even as mainstream tastes shift, there remains a hungry audience for fresh, niche experiences—especially when they blend familiar franchises like Star Wars with innovative gameplay mechanics. By combining a compact core team, strategic external partnerships, and a bold design philosophy that challenges genre norms, Fuse Games aims to prove that a high‑quality, AAA‑level title can be delivered sustainably and on a realistic budget. The upcoming release of Star Wars: Galactic Racer will be the first test of that theory, and Webster is confident the market will respond positively.