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 working on the Burnout and Need for Speed franchises after Criterion, the studio behind those games, was 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 founded the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Just three and a half years later the fledgling studio 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 time when the racing genre has lost much of its mainstream appeal. Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for the upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis stating that the market simply didn’t have room for another racer. Meanwhile Criterion itself has pivoted away from pure racing projects to focus 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, the people who watch our videos and read our articles, tells us we’re not the only ones who think this genre still has life.” He points out that genres tend to be cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other types of games inevitably resurface.
As video‑game participation grows worldwide, even the most niche interests can attract sizable follow‑ups. “Players want fun, fresh, compelling experiences they haven’t seen before,” Webster explains, “and we believe Galactic Racer delivers exactly that.” Fuse’s design philosophy for Galactic Racer embraces the instant‑gratification feel of classic arcade racers while also asking, “What could we do if we weren’t limited by real‑world tyres and tarmac?” The answer, according to Webster, is tracks that climb the side of an active volcano, courses that feel more like roller‑coasters than highways, and a visual language that leans heavily into the fantastical possibilities of the Star Wars universe. Beyond the arcade thrills, the game deliberately subverts long‑standing racing conventions.
Most racers have relied on a car‑collection model for the past two decades, where players unlock new vehicles as a primary progression loop. Webster wants to tear that formula apart and borrow mechanics from other genres.
He cites roguelike influences such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire, noting that those games are built around infinite replayability and meaningful decision‑making. Galactic Racer incorporates a similar risk‑reward system: crashes are no longer trivial setbacks that can be undone with a rewind button. Instead, each crash carries weight; too many failures send the player back to the start of a run, though some meta‑progression carries over, granting a slightly stronger position on the next attempt. This creates tension and forces players to weigh the risk of aggressive driving against the safety of a more conservative approach.
Webster acknowledges that this design choice represents a bold departure from the hand‑holding prevalent in many modern AAA titles. Yet he believes it is essential for standing out in a crowded market, especially in a year when industry giants will release heavyweight titles such as GTA 6, Control: Resonance, and Silent Hill: Townfall.
Galactic Racer is slated for an October 6 launch, giving it a comfortable buffer before GTA 6’s November 19 release while still positioning it amid a busy pre‑holiday window. “September always looks busy,” Webster recalls, “but October has historically been a ‘murderer’s row’ of releases, and we’re comfortable navigating that landscape.” The interview also touches on the broader industry climate, particularly the wave of layoffs that has swept through studios in recent months. Webster, who has witnessed multiple cycles of downsizing, stresses that great teams make great games, and great games find audiences. He warns that an aversion to risk is limiting opportunities, and that studios willing to take calculated bets can thrive.
However, he concedes that starting an independent studio in 2023 has not been easy. Securing funding proved challenging; many investors were skeptical about the viability of a new studio in a turbulent market. Webster’s 32‑year tenure at EA had insulated him from such concerns, but he quickly learned that building a sustainable operation required a clear vision, disciplined planning and a willingness to adapt.
Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core team of about 75 people—small by AAA standards—but this is intentional. Rather than expanding and contracting staff in response to project demands, Fuse relies heavily on external development partners.
These collaborations range from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to deep co‑development relationships where external studios attend daily stand‑ups, participate in Slack channels, and share code repositories. Webster highlights the UK’s mature game‑development ecosystem as a key advantage, noting that today’s partner studios are eager to work on varied projects, keeping their talent fresh and motivated.
According to Webster, this hybrid model allows a studio to deliver a AAA‑scale experience 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 product built on Unreal Engine 5—demonstrates the efficacy of this approach. "We started Fuse in January 2023, and by now we have a full‑blown game on a cutting‑edge engine that none of us previously knew," he says. "It feels like an achievement, and we did it in a healthy, sustainable way." Another notable aspect of Fuse’s strategy is its emphasis on nurturing young talent.
While the studio includes several veteran developers from Criterion, many of its team members are newcomers to the industry. One producer, for example, had never worked on a game before joining Fuse.
Webster praises the fresh perspective these younger staff bring, stating that they often outperform senior hires in both creativity and efficiency. He observes that seasoned developers sometimes prefer to work alongside peers of similar experience, which can limit mentorship opportunities.
By deliberately hiring and empowering younger creators, Fuse hopes to build a culture of continuous learning and innovation. Looking ahead, Webster envisions establishing an internship program to further develop emerging talent, though he acknowledges the studio is still pre‑revenue and must be realistic about the costs involved. He reflects on a period five or six years ago when the industry was flush with capital and many successful developers were granted funding to launch their own studios.
In hindsight, he believes that money would have been better allocated to strong teams rather than to the myth of the singular creative visionary—a notion he calls “fucking bullshit.” Games, he asserts, are collaborative endeavors, not solo masterpieces. As for Fuse’s next steps, the future remains open‑ended. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and the studio is already contemplating new opportunities and potential directions.
Webster stresses that flexibility and adaptability are essential for independent developers in today’s ever‑shifting market. "We have ideas about where we want to go next, but we’ll stay responsive to what the industry and our audience demand," he concludes.