Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started at the company in 1990 and spent almost twenty years developing titles for Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed that 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 team is poised to release 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 moment when the racing genre has largely slipped out of the mainstream spotlight. Amazon recently abandoned a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for the upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis remarking that the market simply didn’t have room for another racer. Criterion itself has pivoted away from pure racing projects and is now focused on the Battlefield franchise.
Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly see a demand for a Star Wars‑based racer,” he told GamesIndustry.biz.
“Our community feedback, the videos we post and the articles we read all suggest we’re not the only ones who think this genre still has life.” He points out that video‑game genres tend to be cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other styles inevitably re‑emerge. As the overall player base expands, even the most niche interests can attract enough fans to become viable commercial projects. Webster believes gamers are looking for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen before," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that.
Fuse’s design philosophy for the game embraces the instant‑gratification feel of classic arcade racers while also asking, "What can we do once we’re no longer limited by tyres and tarmac?" The answer, according to Webster, is tracks that climb the sides of active volcanoes, courses that behave like roller‑coasters, and other over‑the‑top set‑pieces that would be impossible in a realistic simulation. Yet the ambition goes deeper than spectacle. Webster wants to overturn long‑standing conventions in the racing genre, particularly the static car‑collection model that has persisted for two decades.
"Let’s rip that up and steal ideas from other genres," he says. One of those borrowed ideas is the concept of meaningful consequence, a mechanic often muted in modern racers by the presence of rewind or checkpoint systems. In Galactic Racer, crashing carries weight: too many crashes send the player back to the start, though some meta‑progression carries over, granting a slightly stronger position on the next attempt. This risk‑reward loop mirrors the design of roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire, which prioritize infinite replayability.
"Racing thrives on replayability," Webster notes, "so marrying it with roguelike principles feels like a match made in heaven." The game’s unforgiving approach marks a bold departure from the hand‑holding that has become common in AAA releases. Webster acknowledges the challenge of standing out in a crowded release calendar, especially with blockbuster titles like GTA 6 slated for November 19. Galactic Racer is scheduled for October 6, giving it a comfortable window after September’s heavy hitters (Control: Resonance, Silent Hill: Townfall) but before the holiday rush. "September always looks busy, but October has historically been a ‘murderer’s row’ of releases," he reflects, noting that the market can accommodate multiple strong launches if each offers a distinct experience.
Webster also uses the current wave of industry layoffs to illustrate a broader trend: risk aversion is stifling creativity. He argues that when studios shy away from calculated bets, they limit opportunities for innovative projects. Yet he concedes that founding an independent studio in 2023 has not been easy. Securing funding proved difficult; many people questioned the wisdom of starting a new studio after a 32‑year tenure at EA.
Webster’s answer was to lean on the principles he’d learned over his career: build a talented team, hone a clear creative vision, create a flexible plan (knowing it will evolve), and stay true to core values. He stresses that engaged, motivated talent is the engine of great games.
Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core—about 75 people—by design. Rather than inflating the staff size and then shrinking it in response to project phases, 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 daily 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 rather than guarding their own silos. According to Webster, this approach proves that a AAA‑scale title can be delivered on a sustainable budget when a small, permanent core team is augmented by trusted partners who share the same values.
The speed of Galactic Racer’s development underscores this point: Fuse was founded in January 2023, and in just three and a half years the team built a studio, assembled a team, learned Unreal Engine 5 from scratch, and produced a full‑fledged game. Webster calls it an achievement made in a healthy, sustainable manner. A notable aspect of Fuse’s workforce is the infusion of younger developers alongside the Criterion veterans. One of the producers on Galactic Racer had never worked in games before joining the project.
Webster is enthusiastic about this generational blend, stating that the younger talent often brings a level of intelligence and efficiency that surpasses his own capabilities at that age. He observes that seasoned developers sometimes prefer to work with senior colleagues who need minimal guidance, a dynamic that can hinder mentorship.
By pivoting recruitment toward nurturing fresh talent, Fuse hopes to create a culture where both mentors and mentees are motivated. Looking ahead, Webster envisions an intern program to further cultivate emerging talent, though he cautions that the studio is still pre‑revenue and must manage costs carefully. He draws on Criterion’s successful internship initiatives as a model, acknowledging that developing talent requires both financial investment and a clear-eyed understanding of the effort involved.
Reflecting on the boom years five or six years ago, when successful games often spawned well‑funded spin‑off studios, Webster notes that many of those ventures underestimated the difficulty of running an independent studio. He argues that funding should have been directed toward strong teams rather than idolizing a single “creative visionary”—a notion he calls "bullshit". In reality, games are collaborative creations, and the myth of a lone auteur does a disservice to the many contributors who bring a project to life. As for Fuse’s future beyond Galactic Racer, Webster admits the path is still being charted.
The launch is just the beginning, and the studio remains open to discussing new opportunities and ideas. He emphasizes the need for flexibility and adaptability in today’s independent development landscape, where the ability to pivot quickly can be as valuable as any long‑term plan.