Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started at the company in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years developing hits for Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed, 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.
Just over three years later the fledgling studio is on the brink 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 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 title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis remarking that the market simply didn’t have room for another racer. Meanwhile, Criterion itself has shifted its focus from pure racing experiences to the Battlefield franchise.
Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars‑styled racing adventure. “We clearly see an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “Our community, the people who watch our videos and read our posts, tell us they’re not the only ones hoping for this.” Webster points out that gaming trends are cyclical.
“Shooters dominated for a while, but they’re not the only genre that can dominate,” he said. “As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger following.” He believes players are craving fresh, compelling experiences they haven’t seen before, and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that.
The team set out to capture the instant‑gratification feel of classic arcade racers while also exploring what can be done when you’re no longer limited by real‑world physics like tyres and tarmac. “We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano,” Webster explained. “Sometimes it feels more like a roller‑coaster than a traditional circuit.” Beyond the high‑octane thrills, the game is designed to upend long‑standing conventions of the racing genre.
Most racers rely on a car‑collection model that has remained largely unchanged for two decades. Webster wants to rip that formula apart and borrow ideas from other genres.
One of those ideas is the notion of meaningful consequences for player actions. In many modern racers a rewind button eliminates the penalty for crashing, but Galactic Racer re‑introduces risk: crashing repeatedly sends you back to the start, though you retain a slice of meta‑progression that puts you in a stronger position the next run.
This creates tension, especially when you’re on your final allowed crash and must weigh the risk of pushing harder. The game’s structure also draws inspiration from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire—games built around infinite replayability.
“Racing thrives on replayability, so marrying it with roguelike loops feels like a match made in heaven,” Webster noted. The design encourages players to experiment, learn from each failure, and return stronger, echoing the core loop of many successful indie and AAA titles.
Releasing a new IP in a crowded calendar is a bold move, especially with heavyweight releases like GTA 6 slated for November 19. Galactic Racer is set for an October 6 launch, giving it a modest buffer from the biggest blockbuster while still landing amid a busy September‑October window that includes titles such as Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall. Webster acknowledges the competition but remains confident.
“I’ve always been told that good games find a way,” he said, “so we’re hoping our game will find its audience.” The conversation inevitably turns to the wave of layoffs sweeping the industry. Webster, who has witnessed a similar contraction about fifteen years ago, believes the current risk‑averse climate actually creates opportunities for studios willing to take calculated bets.
“Great teams make great games, and great games find an audience,” he observed. He warns that studios overly focused on protecting themselves from risk may miss out on the very innovations that drive the market forward. Funding an independent studio in 2023 proved challenging.
After three decades at EA, Webster found the transition to entrepreneurship “brutal” at first. He leaned on core principles: assemble a talented team, crystalize a creative vision, and maintain disciplined planning—while accepting that any plan will evolve. He emphasizes the importance of keeping the team engaged and motivated, noting that a small, cohesive core can deliver AAA‑level scope without the costly boom‑and‑bust staffing cycles that plague many larger developers.
Fuse Games currently operates with roughly 75 staff members, a deliberate choice to avoid the typical “grow‑shrink‑grow” pattern. Instead, the studio supplements its core with external partners ranging from transactional asset outsourcers to full‑fledged co‑development studios that sit in on daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even share the same code base.
Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations, pointing out that today’s external studios are eager to work on varied projects rather than merely keeping the lights on. This hybrid model, according to Webster, proves that a AAA‑scale game can be built on a sustainable budget when a lean core team leverages trusted partners. The rapid timeline of Galactic Racer—conceived in January 2023 and ready for launch just three and a half years later on Unreal Engine 5—demonstrates the efficiency of this approach. Another striking aspect of Fuse’s journey is the infusion of young talent.
While the studio benefits from veteran Criterion alumni, many of its developers are newcomers to the industry; one producer, for instance, had never worked on a game before joining. Webster praises this fresh perspective, stating that younger staff often bring a level of intelligence and effectiveness that surpasses his own abilities at that age.
He believes nurturing junior talent is more rewarding than relying solely on seasoned developers who may prefer minimal interaction. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to continue feeding the pipeline of emerging creators, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue and must balance ambition with financial reality. He reflects on a past era when successful games spawned well‑funded spin‑off studios, only for many of those ventures to stumble because they were built around a single “creative visionary” myth. “That’s absolute nonsense,” he says.
“Games are always collaborative endeavors.” As for Fuse’s next steps, the studio remains flexible. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and while they have ideas for future projects, they recognize the need to stay adaptable in an ever‑changing market.
The team’s confidence, combined with a realistic outlook, positions them to navigate whatever challenges lie ahead.