Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He arrived at the company in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years contributing to the legendary Burnout and Need for Speed series while working at Criterion, the studio EA acquired in 2004. However, in early 2023 Webster, together with fellow Criterion alumni 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 three and a half years, and Fuse is on the brink of releasing its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, published by the newly independent Secret Mode.
Galactic Racer marks the first Star Wars‑themed racing game in roughly 24 years—the previous effort, Racer Revenge, hit shelves in 2002. In the intervening decades, the racing genre has struggled to retain mainstream attention. Amazon recently abandoned a publishing deal with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis noting that the market simply didn’t seem to fit the project.
Criterion, once a powerhouse of arcade‑style racers, has shifted its focus to the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars‑centric racer.
"Clearly we think 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 response we get from people watching our videos or reading our articles suggests we’re not alone." He argues that video‑game genres are inherently cyclical.
After a period dominated by shooters, other genres inevitably re‑emerge as players look for fresh, compelling experiences they haven’t yet encountered. "As more people play games, even the tiniest niche can find a larger audience," Webster said. The core promise of Galactic Racer, according to Webster, is to deliver something both fun and novel.
The team wanted to capture the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also exploring what’s possible when you’re no longer limited by realistic tyres and tarmac. "We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano," he explained, describing courses that feel more like roller‑coasters than conventional circuits.
Beyond the high‑octane thrills, Fuse is deliberately subverting long‑standing racing conventions. Traditionally, racing games revolve 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 such mechanic is meaningful consequence.
In many modern racers, a rewind button erases the impact of a crash, reducing risk to almost nothing. Fuse plans to re‑introduce genuine stakes: crashing too often will send the player back to the start, though some meta‑progression carries over, giving a sense of forward momentum even after a setback.
Webster cites roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire as inspirations. Those games are built around infinite replayability, a quality that dovetails perfectly with racing, which thrives on repeated runs and mastery. By integrating roguelike elements—procedural variation, persistent upgrades, and permanent consequences—Galactic Racer aims to become a “match made in heaven” for fans of both genres.
Releasing the game on October 6 places it in a crowded calendar, sandwiched between the highly anticipated GTA 6 (set for November 19) and other major launches like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall on September 24. Yet Webster is unfazed.
He recalls past years when September felt busy, but October was historically “murderers’ row” with a flood of releases. He acknowledges the competition but says Fuse approaches it with a “healthy sense of confidence” tempered by realistic expectations. "Good games will find a way," he says, echoing a mantra that has guided him through industry ups and downs. Speaking about the recent wave of layoffs, Webster reflects on his long tenure in the business.
He remembers a similar contraction fifteen years ago and notes that strong teams produce great games, which in turn attract audiences. He sees the current risk‑averse climate as both a challenge and an opportunity: studios willing to take calculated bets can carve out space for innovative experiences.
Funding an independent studio in 2023 has been anything but easy. Webster admits that many questioned his decision to leave a secure EA role after 32 years.
"People were like, ‘you’re brave doing an independent studio in 2023,’" he recalls. The solution, he says, lies in adhering to core principles: building a talented team, sharpening a clear creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning—while accepting that plans will inevitably evolve. Fuse’s team is deliberately lean for a AAA‑scale project, numbering around 75 core staff. Rather than inflating and deflating the workforce, the studio relies on external partners to fill gaps.
This hybrid model blends transactional outsourcing for asset creation with deeper co‑development relationships where external studios attend stand‑ups, join Slack channels, and contribute directly to the codebase. Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations, noting that today’s studios are eager to work across multiple projects, keeping talent fresh and motivated. Webster believes this approach demonstrates that a AAA‑level game—by scope, visual fidelity and ambition—can be produced on a sustainable budget when a small permanent core is augmented by trusted partners. The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer underscores that belief: Fuse was founded in January 2023, and just three and a half years later they have a finished product built on Unreal Engine 5, a technology none of the team originally mastered.
Another notable aspect of Fuse’s strategy is its emphasis on young talent. While the studio includes veteran Criterion alumni, many of its developers are fresh faces, some even new to the industry. One producer, for example, had never worked on a game before joining the project. Webster praises this youthful energy, saying the younger staff often out‑perform older colleagues in creativity and efficiency.
He argues that nurturing junior talent benefits both the newcomers and the seasoned mentors, fostering a collaborative environment that outweighs the traditional preference for senior hires. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to further cultivate emerging developers, though he cautions that Fuse remains pre‑revenue and must balance ambition with financial reality. He reflects on a period five or six years ago when the industry was flush with capital, and many successful teams received funding to spin off their own studios—only to discover the challenges of independent operation.
He criticizes the lingering industry myth that a single “creative visionary” can carry a game, calling it “bullshit” and emphasizing that games are fundamentally collaborative endeavors. As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster admits the future is still taking shape. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and while the studio has ideas for future projects, flexibility will be key for an independent developer navigating an ever‑shifting market. He remains optimistic, confident that the blend of innovative design, a lean‑core‑plus‑partner model, and a fresh generation of talent will keep Fuse Games on a promising trajectory.