Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within Electronic Arts. He started at the company in 1990 and spent almost twenty years contributing to the legendary 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 former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to strike out on their own and launch the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Fast‑forward a little over three years, and Fuse is on the verge 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 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 remarking that the market simply didn’t seem to have room for another racer. Meanwhile, Criterion itself has pivoted away from pure racing projects to focus on the Battlefield franchise.
Despite these signals, Webster is convinced there is still a viable audience for a Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly see a demand for a Star Wars‑based racer,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “We’re not the only ones who feel that way, and the response we get from our videos and articles suggests we’re not alone.” He points out that entertainment genres tend to be cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other types of games inevitably re‑emerge.
“As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger fan base,” Webster explained. According to Webster, modern players are hungry for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences they haven’t seen before," and he believes Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The team 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 real‑world tyres and tarmac?" The answer includes wildly imaginative tracks that climb the side of an active volcano, turning each race into a roller‑coaster‑like thrill ride.
Beyond the arcade spectacle, Galactic Racer deliberately subverts long‑standing genre conventions. Most racing games have relied on a static 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 contemporary racers, a rewind feature eliminates any penalty for a mistake, but Fuse wants to re‑introduce risk. "If you crash too often, you’re sent back to the start," Webster says, "but you keep some meta‑progression, so you begin from a slightly stronger position. The final crash feels tense because you’re forced to weigh the risk versus the reward." The design philosophy also draws heavily from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire—games built around infinite replayability.
"Racing thrives on replayability, so merging it with roguelike loops feels like a perfect match," Webster notes. Each run through a track can yield different power‑ups, upgrades and route choices, encouraging players to experiment and refine strategies over multiple attempts. Webster acknowledges that the decision to launch a new IP in a crowded calendar is daring, especially with Rockstar’s GTA 6 slated for November 19. Galactic Racer’s release on October 6 lands it between high‑profile launches like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall (both on September 24) and the much‑anticipated GTA 6.
Yet he reminds us that crowded September windows are nothing new; historically, October has been a bustling month for releases, often dubbed “murderers’ row.” Fuse approaches the market with “a healthy sense of confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things may turn out,” he says. The interview also touches on the broader industry climate, particularly the wave of layoffs that has swept through major studios.
Webster, who has witnessed a similar downsizing period fifteen years ago, believes that strong teams produce great games, and great games eventually find their audience. He argues that the industry’s current aversion to risk creates openings for developers willing to take calculated bets.
"If you shy away from risk, you limit opportunity," he warns. Starting an independent studio in 2023 has not been without obstacles. Securing funding proved difficult; many investors questioned the wisdom of launching a new studio at a time when the market feels uncertain.
Webster reflects on his 32‑year tenure at EA as a “bubble” and says the lessons he learned there—building a solid team, sharpening a creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning—have guided Fuse’s approach. He emphasizes that a motivated, engaged team is the cornerstone of any successful project. Fuse Games remains relatively small for a title of AAA ambition, employing roughly 75 people.
This size is intentional. Rather than expanding and contracting staff in response to project phases—a common practice in the industry—Fuse relies on a network of external partners to fill skill gaps. "We’re not doing the grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink cycle," Webster explains. "Our model is a lean core team supplemented by trusted collaborators who share our values." External development for Fuse ranges from straightforward outsourcing—where partners provide assets on a transactional basis—to deep co‑development, where external studios become extensions of the internal team, participating in daily stand‑ups, Slack channels and even the codebase.
The United Kingdom, with its mature game‑development ecosystem, proves especially fertile for such collaborations. In the past, external studios might have been reluctant to assist, preferring to focus on their own projects.
Today, however, many companies hire talent that enjoys moving between different teams and challenges, keeping the workforce fresh and enthusiastic. Webster is convinced that this hybrid model can deliver AAA‑level scope, scale and visual fidelity on a sustainable budget. The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer—just three and a half years from Fuse’s founding to a launch‑ready product built on Unreal Engine 5—demonstrates that the approach works.
"We started Fuse in January 2023, and by now we have a studio, a team, and a full game on an engine none of us previously mastered. It feels like a genuine achievement, and we did it sustainably," he says. The studio also benefits from a blend of veteran expertise and fresh perspectives. While many of the core members are Criterion alumni, Fuse has recruited a significant number of younger developers, some of whom have never worked in games before.
"Our young talent is incredibly smart and effective—often more so than I was at their age," Webster remarks. He notes that senior developers sometimes prefer to work with equally senior colleagues who require less mentorship, but fostering young talent creates a more dynamic and motivated environment. Fuse plans to formalize this by eventually launching an internship program, though the studio is still pre‑revenue and must balance ambition with financial reality. Reflecting on a period a few years ago when the industry enjoyed abundant funding, Webster recalls how many successful teams received capital to spin off their own studios, only to discover the challenges of independent operation.
He criticizes the industry’s lingering fascination with the myth of the "single creative visionary," calling it "bullshit" and emphasizing that games are always the product of collaborative effort. Looking ahead, Fuse Games does not have a fixed roadmap beyond Galactic Racer. The launch is just the beginning, and the studio remains open to exploring new opportunities and partnerships. "As an independent developer, you have to stay flexible and adaptable," Webster concludes, underscoring the studio’s commitment to evolving with the market while staying true to its core values.