Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started at EA in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years contributing to the Burnout and Need for Speed franchises while they were under Criterion, a studio EA acquired in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster, together with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires, and Alan McDairmant, decided to leave the corporate giant and launch their own independent UK studio, Fuse Games. Just over three years later, that fledgling team is preparing to ship its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which will be published by the newly autonomous label Secret Mode.
Galactic Racer arrives roughly 24 years after the last Star Wars‑themed racing game, 2002’s Racer Revenge. In the intervening decades, the racing genre has lost some of its mainstream steam. Amazon recently abandoned a publishing agreement with UK studio Maverick Games for the upcoming driving title 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 speed, has pivoted away from racing to focus on the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster is convinced that a demand still exists. “We clearly believe 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 reaction we get from our videos and articles suggests we’re not alone.” He points out that video‑game genres tend to be cyclical.
After a period dominated by shooters, other styles inevitably resurface. “As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches find a larger audience,” he added. According to Webster, gamers are hungry for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen before," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that.
The studio set out to capture the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also exploring the possibilities that arise when you’re not limited by realistic tyres and tarmac. “We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano,” he explains.
“Sometimes it feels like a roller‑coaster.” Beyond the high‑octane thrills, the game aims to upend long‑standing conventions of the racing genre. Traditionally, racing titles have revolved around collecting cars—a formula that hasn’t changed in roughly two decades.
Webster wants to tear that model apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One of the most striking innovations is the emphasis on consequential decision‑making, especially when a player crashes. In many modern racers, a rewind button erases the impact of mistakes, but Galactic Racer reintroduces real stakes: frequent crashes can send you back to the start, though you retain some meta‑progression that puts you in a stronger position for the next run.
This creates a tension reminiscent of roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal, and Slay the Spire, which are built around infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability, so combining it with roguelike principles feels like a match made in heaven," Webster says. The crash mechanic is deliberately punitive: "If you crash too many times, you’re forced back to the beginning, but you carry forward some upgrades.
When you’re on your last allowed crash, you really start to feel the risk and weigh your choices carefully," he notes. This design choice marks a bold departure from the hand‑holding that has become common in AAA releases, especially as the industry prepares for heavyweight launches like GTA 6. Galactic Racer’s release date, October 6, lands a comfortable month before GTA 6’s scheduled November 19 debut, yet still follows other major releases such as Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall, both arriving on September 24. Webster acknowledges that the calendar is crowded, but reminds us that the industry has weathered busier periods before.
He recalls the “Murderer’s Row” era when October was jam‑packed with high‑profile titles. Fuse Games approaches the market with “a healthy sense of 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 long tenure and the layoffs that occurred roughly fifteen years ago.
He observes that great teams produce great games, and great games find their audience. Yet he warns that a prevailing aversion to risk is limiting opportunities. “If you’re unwilling to take calculated risks, you’ll miss the chance to push the envelope,” he says. Starting an independent studio in 2023 has not been without hurdles.
Funding proved elusive, and many questioned the wisdom of launching a new studio in a turbulent climate. Webster admits, “I spent 32 years at EA inside a bubble.
Doing an indie studio was completely new to me.” He leaned on core principles: building a strong team, refining a clear creative vision, and maintaining discipline to adapt plans as reality shifts. He emphasizes that engaged, motivated talent is the engine of great games, and that nurturing that talent is a leadership responsibility. Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core team of about 75 people—small by AAA standards. This size is intentional; the studio wants to avoid the industry’s typical pattern of rapid expansion followed by contraction.
Instead, Fuse relies heavily on external development partners to fill skill gaps. "We’re not doing the grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink cycle," Webster explains. "Our model could become the blueprint for AAA development moving forward: a permanent, small core team supplemented by trusted partners who share our values." External collaboration at Fuse spans a spectrum. Some partners provide transactional asset creation, while others act as co‑development extensions, participating in daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even sharing the codebase.
The UK’s mature game‑development ecosystem makes it an ideal hub for such partnerships. In the past, studios were reluctant to assist competitors, but today many companies actively seek varied projects to keep their staff energized and versatile.
Webster believes this hybrid approach enables a AAA‑level scope, scale, and visual fidelity on a sustainable budget. The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer validates the model: Fuse was founded in January 2023, and three and a half years later they have delivered a fully‑realized UE5 title despite initially having no experience with the engine.
"It feels like an achievement, and we’ve done it in a healthy, sustainable way," he says. Another noteworthy aspect is the infusion of young talent.
While the studio includes veteran Criterion alumni, many team members are newcomers to the industry; one producer had never worked in games before joining Fuse. Webster praises this fresh perspective: "Our younger developers are often smarter and more effective than I was at their age. We’ve had greater success with them than with some senior hires from elsewhere." He notes that seasoned developers sometimes prefer to work alongside equally experienced colleagues, limiting opportunities for mentorship. Fuse, however, has pivoted its hiring strategy to prioritize nurturing young talent, believing that this not only motivates the newcomers but also revitalizes senior staff.
Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to further cultivate emerging developers, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue. He cites Criterion’s successful intern initiatives as an inspiration, acknowledging that developing talent requires both financial investment and a clear-eyed understanding of the costs involved. Reflecting on the era when the industry was flush with capital, Webster recalls how many successful teams received funding to spin out their own studios, only to discover how challenging independent development can be. He argues that money should have been allocated to strong teams rather than to the myth of the singular creative visionary—a notion he calls "fucking bullshit." In reality, games are collaborative creations.
As for Fuse’s next steps, the future remains fluid. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and the studio is open to exploring new opportunities while staying adaptable.
"We have ideas about where we want to go next, but as an independent developer you have to stay flexible and ready to pivot," Webster concludes.