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 contributing to iconic franchises such as Burnout and Need for Speed through Criterion, the studio EA acquired in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster, together with several former Criterion colleagues—including Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires, and Alan McDairmant—decided to strike out on their own and founded the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Just over three years later the fledgling company is poised to release its debut title, *Star Wars: Galactic Racer*, which will be published by the newly autonomous label Secret Mode.
The timing of *Galactic Racer* is noteworthy. It arrives roughly 24 years after the last Star Wars‑themed racing game, 2002’s *Racer Revenge*, and it does so during a period when traditional racing games have struggled to maintain mainstream appeal.
Recent industry moves underscore this trend: Amazon withdrew from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for the upcoming title *Clutch*, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis stating that the project didn’t fit the market. Meanwhile, Criterion itself has shifted focus away from pure racing experiences toward the *Battlefield* franchise.
Despite these signals, Webster remains confident that a market exists for a Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly see an audience for a Star Wars‑based racer,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “Our community feedback—videos, articles, forum chatter—suggests we’re not alone in believing that.” He argues that video‑game genres are inherently cyclical. While shooters dominated the market for a time, other genres inevitably resurface as the player base expands.
“As more people play games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger audience,” Webster explained. Webster believes gamers are hungry for fresh, compelling experiences that feel novel. *Galactic Racer* is designed to satisfy that desire by offering an arcade‑style racing formula while also pushing the boundaries of what a racing game can be when it is no longer tethered to realistic tires and tarmac.
“We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano,” he said, describing the game’s roller‑coaster‑like courses. This emphasis on high‑octane, imaginative environments is meant to capture the instant‑gratification that arcade racers traditionally deliver. Beyond the visual spectacle, the game deliberately subverts long‑standing racing conventions.
For decades, most racing titles have centered on car collection—a mechanic that has changed little in twenty years. Webster wants to “rip that up” and borrow ideas from other genres.
One such influence is the roguelike design philosophy seen in games like *Hades*, *Returnal*, and *Slay the Spire*. These titles prioritize infinite replayability and meaningful consequence, concepts Webster believes align perfectly with racing’s inherent replay value. In *Galactic Racer*, crashes are not merely setbacks that can be undone with a rewind button; they carry weight. Too many crashes force the player back to the start, though some meta‑progression carries over, giving a sense of advancement despite the penalty.
This risk‑reward dynamic forces players to weigh aggression against caution, echoing the tension found in roguelikes. Webster acknowledges that this approach is a bold departure from the hand‑holding typical of many AAA releases, especially as the industry prepares for heavyweight launches like *GTA 6*.
*Galactic Racer* is slated for an October 6 release, comfortably spaced before *GTA 6*’s November 19 launch but still landing amid a crowded September‑October window that includes titles such as *Control: Resonance* and *Silent Hill: Townfall*. He notes that historically, developers have navigated even busier pre‑holiday schedules, recalling the “Murderers’ Row” of October releases from earlier eras. Fuse Games, he says, maintains a “healthy sense of confidence” tempered by realistic expectations. When discussing the broader industry climate, Webster reflects on the wave of layoffs that has swept through major studios.
Having lived through a similar contraction fifteen years prior, he emphasizes that strong teams produce great games, and great games find their audiences. He sees the current risk‑averse atmosphere as an opening for studios willing to take calculated bets. “If you avoid risk, you limit opportunity,” he warned, urging developers to push boundaries rather than play it safe.
Funding, however, remains a challenge for independent studios in 2023. Webster recounts the skepticism he faced when announcing Fuse Games: “People said, ‘You’re brave doing an indie studio now.’” After three decades at EA, stepping into a lean, self‑sustaining operation required a shift in mindset. He distilled his philosophy into a simple formula: build a talented team, refine a clear creative vision, create a disciplined yet adaptable plan, and stay true to core values. This approach, he believes, cultivates engagement and motivation, which are essential for delivering high‑quality work.
Fuse’s structure reflects this philosophy. The studio operates with a core team of roughly 75 people—small for a title of AAA ambition—but deliberately avoids the “grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink” cycle common in larger studios. Instead, Fuse leverages external development partners to fill skill gaps.
These partnerships range from transactional outsourcing (pure asset creation) to deep co‑development, where external studios attend daily stand‑ups, join Slack channels, and contribute directly to the code base. Webster highlights the United Kingdom’s mature game‑development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaboration, noting that today’s studios are eager to work across multiple projects rather than being locked into a single proprietary effort.
According to Webster, this hybrid model proves that a AAA‑scale game—measured by scope, visual fidelity, and ambition—can be produced on a sustainable budget. The rapid development timeline of *Galactic Racer* serves as evidence: Fuse was founded in January 2023, and within three and a half years the team built a studio, assembled a workforce, and created a game using Unreal Engine 5—a technology none of them had previously mastered.
Webster describes this achievement as “healthy and sustainable,” underscoring the viability of the small‑core‑plus‑partners approach. The studio’s talent mix further illustrates Fuse’s forward‑looking strategy.
While many veterans from Criterion are present, a significant portion of the team consists of younger developers, some of whom have never worked in games before. One producer on *Galactic Racer* entered the industry with no prior experience.
Webster praises this fresh perspective, stating that many of the young team members are “smarter and more effective” than he was at their age. He argues that nurturing junior talent can be more rewarding than relying solely on senior hires, who may prefer minimal interaction and mentorship. This insight has already influenced Fuse’s recruitment tactics, prompting a pivot toward hiring and developing emerging talent. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to further cultivate the next generation of developers, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue and financially cautious.
He points to Criterion’s successful intern initiatives as a model, acknowledging that such programs require a clear understanding of the costs involved. Reflecting on a more prosperous period five or six years ago, Webster recalls how developers who had delivered hit games were quickly given funding to start their own studios, only to discover the reality was far tougher than anticipated.
He criticizes the industry’s past fixation on the “lone creative visionary,” labeling it “bullshit.” In his view, games are always the product of collaborative effort, not the output of a single genius. As for Fuse’s future beyond *Galactic Racer*, Webster remains non‑committal but optimistic.
He sees the launch as just the beginning and hints at ongoing discussions about potential projects. However, he stresses that independence demands flexibility; the studio must stay adaptable to market shifts and opportunities. In summary, Matt Webster’s journey—from a long‑standing EA veteran to the founder of an innovative indie studio—illustrates a belief that niche genres can thrive when they evolve, that small, tightly‑run teams can produce AAA‑level experiences through strategic partnerships, and that investing in young talent is essential for sustainable growth. *Star Wars: Galactic Racer* embodies these principles, aiming to deliver a fresh, high‑adrenaline racing adventure while challenging conventional design norms, and it serves as a test case for a new development model that could reshape how large‑scale games are built in the years to come.