Matt Webster’s career seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started at EA in 1990 and spent almost twenty years at Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed, until EA acquired the developer in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster teamed up with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires, and Alan McDairmant to launch the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Just over three years later the fledgling studio is preparing to ship its debut title, *Star Wars: Galactic Racer*, under the banner of the newly independent publisher Secret Mode.
The new game arrives roughly 24 years after the last Star Wars racing entry, *Racer Revenge* (2002), and it does so at a time when the racing genre has generally lost some of its mainstream steam. Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for the upcoming driving title *Clutch*, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis explaining that the market simply didn’t seem to fit the project. Meanwhile Criterion itself has shifted focus away from pure racing and is now more closely associated with the *Battlefield* franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars‑themed racer.
“We clearly think there’s a market 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 people watching our videos and reading our articles suggests we’re not alone.” He points out that gaming trends are cyclical. “We went through a phase where shooters dominated everything, but that’s not the only genre that can capture players’ attention.
As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger audience.” Webster believes gamers are searching for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen before," and he feels *Galactic Racer* delivers on that promise. 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, according to Webster, includes tracks that climb the side of an active volcano and courses that feel more like roller‑coasters than conventional circuits.
Beyond the high‑octane thrills, *Galactic Racer* aims to upend long‑standing conventions of the racing genre. Traditionally, racing games have revolved around car collection—a formula that has persisted for roughly two decades. Webster wants to tear that model 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 can erase mistakes, making crashes feel inconsequential. Fuse’s design re‑introduces risk: repeated crashes can send a player back to the start, though some meta‑progression carries over, putting the racer in a slightly stronger position. This risk‑reward loop forces players to weigh each maneuver carefully, especially when they’re on their final “life.” The game’s structure also draws inspiration from roguelike titles such as *Hades*, *Returnal*, and *Slay the Spire*. Those games are built around infinite replayability, a quality that meshes naturally with racing, which thrives on repeated runs and mastery.
By blending the procedural, high‑stakes nature of roguelikes with the speed and competition of racing, Fuse hopes to create a “match made in heaven.” Launching on October 6, *Galactic Racer* lands a month before the highly anticipated *GTA 6* (due November 19) but after other major releases like *Control: Resonance* and *Silent Hill: Townfall* (both September 24). Webster acknowledges the crowded calendar but notes that the industry has weathered even busier pre‑Christmas windows before. “People used to call September ‘murderer’s row,’ and October was always packed.
We have a healthy confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things might turn out,” he said. The conversation inevitably turns to the wave of layoffs sweeping the industry. Having lived through a similar contraction fifteen years ago, Webster observes that great teams still make great games, and great games still find audiences.
He argues that the current aversion to risk creates opportunities for studios willing to take calculated bets. “If you’re too cautious, you limit yourself. Those willing to push boundaries can capture the space left vacant by risk‑averse publishers.” Funding, however, has been a major hurdle for the newly formed studio. “People told me I was brave to start an independent studio in 2023,” Webster recalled.
After three decades at EA, he found himself in a bubble and had to relearn how to secure capital, build a team, and stick to a disciplined creative vision. His mantra: assemble a motivated core team, refine the creative direction, accept that plans will always be imperfect, and continuously adapt while staying true to core values. Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean headcount—about 75 people—for a title that aspires to AAA quality. This size is intentional.
Rather than expanding and contracting staff in response to project phases—a common industry pattern—Fuse relies heavily on external development partners. The studio distinguishes between transactional outsourcing (pure asset creation) and true co‑development, where external studios sit in on daily stand‑ups, share Slack channels, and contribute directly to the code base. Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations, noting that today’s studios are eager to work on varied projects, keeping talent fresh and motivated.
Webster believes this hybrid model—small permanent core plus trusted external partners—offers a sustainable path to AAA‑scale games on a more manageable budget. The rapid development timeline of *Galactic Racer* serves as proof: Fuse launched in January 2023, and three and a half years later they have a finished product built on Unreal Engine 5, a technology none of the team originally mastered. "It feels like an achievement," Webster said, "and we did it in a healthy, sustainable way." A notable aspect of Fuse’s workforce is the infusion of younger developers alongside the Criterion veterans. Some team members, including one producer, had never worked in games before joining the project.
"The young talent we’ve got is incredibly smart and effective—often more so than I was at their age," Webster praised. He observed that seasoned developers sometimes prefer senior colleagues who require minimal interaction, a mindset that can stifle mentorship.
By pivoting hiring practices toward nurturing fresh talent, Fuse has found unexpected success. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to further develop emerging talent, though he acknowledges the studio is still pre‑revenue. He cites Criterion’s successful intern pipelines as a model and stresses that any such effort must be approached with clear eyes regarding the costs and resources required. Reflecting on the boom years of roughly five to six years ago, when abundant funding allowed successful teams to spin off their own studios, Webster notes that many of those ventures underestimated the challenges of independence.
He argues that money should have been directed toward strong teams rather than celebrated “superstar” developers. "The fixation on a single creative visionary is nonsense," he said. "Games are always collaborative endeavors." As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster admits the future is still being mapped out. The launch of *Star Wars: 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 volatile market.