Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started at EA back in 1990 and spent almost twenty years working on the iconic Burnout and Need for Speed series after Criterion, the studio behind those games, was acquired in 2004. Yet in early 2023 he, along with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to leave the corporate behemoth and launch the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Fast‑forward a little over three years, and Fuse is poised to drop 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 racing entry, 2002’s Racer Revenge, and it does so at a time when the racing genre has largely slipped out of the mainstream spotlight. Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving game Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis remarking that the market didn’t feel like a natural fit. Meanwhile, Criterion itself has shifted focus away from pure racing toward 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 an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “Our community, the people watching our videos and reading our articles, seem to agree.” He points out that video‑game genres tend to be cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other types inevitably resurface. “As more and more people play video games, even the tiniest of niches find a bigger audience,” Webster says.
Players, he believes, are constantly seeking fresh, compelling experiences they haven’t encountered before, and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. Fuse’s vision for the game is rooted in classic arcade immediacy while also exploring what can be done when you’re not bound by the physics of real‑world tyres and tarmac.
“We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano,” Webster explains. “Sometimes it feels like a roller‑coaster.” Beyond the high‑octane thrills, the title aims to upend long‑standing racing conventions.
Most racing games have relied on a static car‑collection model for the past two decades. Webster wants to tear that apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One of those borrowed ideas is the notion of meaningful consequence, inspired by roguelike design.
In many modern racers, a rewind button eliminates any penalty for crashing. Fuse wants to re‑introduce risk: crashing too often sends you back to the start, though you retain some meta‑progression that makes you slightly stronger on the next run. “When you’re on your last crash and systems are critical, you start to feel the weight of your decisions,” he notes.
This design philosophy draws from games like Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire, which prioritize infinite replayability—a natural fit for a racing game where players thrive on repeated attempts to shave seconds off their laps. Webster acknowledges that launching a new IP in a crowded calendar is daring, especially with heavyweight titles such as GTA 6 slated for November 19.
Galactic Racer’s release on October 6 lands it between big releases like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall (both September 24) and the GTA 6 debut. Yet he points out that busy September windows are nothing new; historically, October has been packed with major launches. “We have a healthy confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things may turn out,” he says.
“Good games will find a way.” The conversation turns to the broader industry climate, where layoffs and risk‑averse funding have become common. Webster, who lived through a wave of cuts a decade and a half ago, sees a pattern: great teams make great games, and great games attract audiences.
He argues that the current aversion to risk actually creates openings for studios willing to take calculated bets. “If you’re not making bold bets, you limit opportunity,” he observes. Starting a studio in 2023, however, hasn’t been without hurdles.
Securing financing proved difficult; many questioned the wisdom of launching an independent studio after a 32‑year tenure at EA. Webster’s response was to lean on core principles: assemble a talented team, sharpen a creative vision, and maintain disciplined planning while staying adaptable. He stresses that an engaged, motivated crew is the engine of success.
Fuse’s team is deliberately lean—about 75 people—compared with typical AAA studios that swell and shrink in response to project demands. Instead of expanding internally, Fuse supplements its core with external partners, ranging from transactional asset outsourcing to full co‑development where outside studios join daily stand‑ups, Slack channels and even the codebase. The UK’s mature development ecosystem makes such collaboration especially effective, as many companies now hire people eager to work across varied projects, keeping talent fresh and enthusiastic.
Webster believes this hybrid model can deliver AAA‑level scope, scale and visual fidelity on a more sustainable budget. The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer—just three and a half years from Fuse’s founding to a near‑complete UE5‑powered game—demonstrates the approach’s viability. Another striking aspect of Fuse’s story is the infusion of youthful talent.
Alongside Criterion veterans, the studio has recruited many younger developers, even a producer who had never worked in games before. “Our young talent is smarter and more effective in many ways than I was at that age,” Webster says. He notes that seasoned developers often prefer senior colleagues who require minimal interaction, but nurturing younger staff can be equally motivating for both parties. He hopes to eventually launch an intern program, citing Criterion’s successful intern pipelines as inspiration, while acknowledging that Fuse is still pre‑revenue and must weigh the costs of talent development.
Reflecting on a period when the industry was flush with cash, Webster recalls how many successful teams received funding to spin off their own studios, only to discover the reality was far tougher than expected. He criticizes the industry’s lingering fixation on the myth of a singular creative visionary, calling it “bullshit.” In his view, games are collaborative creations, not the product of lone geniuses. Looking ahead, Fuse Games remains flexible. While the launch of Galactic Racer is just the first chapter, the studio is already contemplating future opportunities and directions.
“As an independent developer you have to stay adaptable,” Webster concludes, underscoring that the journey has only just begun.