Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He began at EA in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years contributing to the acclaimed Burnout and Need for Speed franchises while they were under the umbrella of Criterion, the studio EA acquired in 2004. However, in early 2023 Webster, together with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to part ways with the corporate giant and launch an independent studio in the United Kingdom called Fuse Games.
Three and a half years later the fledgling team is poised to release its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which will be published by the newly autonomous label Secret Mode. The timing of Galactic Racer’s arrival is noteworthy. The last Star Wars‑themed racing game, Racer Revenge, hit shelves in 2002 – a full twenty‑four years ago.
Since then, the broader racing genre has struggled to maintain mainstream appeal. Amazon recently withdrew from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis explaining that the market simply did not have a clear fit for the project.
Meanwhile, Criterion, once a powerhouse of arcade‑style racing, has shifted its focus to the Battlefield franchise, signalling a broader industry trend away from traditional car‑based racers. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly believe there is an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz.
“We’re not the only ones who think that, and the response we get from people watching our videos and reading our articles suggests we’re not alone.” He points out that entertainment genres are cyclical: “We went through a phase where shooters dominated, but that’s not the only genre that can thrive. As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches find larger audiences.” Webster argues that modern gamers are craving “fun, interesting, compelling new experiences they haven’t seen before,” and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The studio’s vision is to create something fresh, an arcade‑style racer that also pushes the boundaries of what a racing game can be when it’s no longer tied to realistic tyres and tarmac. “We have tracks that climb up the side of an active volcano,” he explains.
“It feels like a roller‑coaster at times.” Beyond the high‑octane thrills, Galactic Racer aims to upend long‑standing conventions of the genre. Most racing games have relied on a car‑collection model for the past two decades.
Webster wants to tear that formula apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One of the most radical changes is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashing. In many modern racers, a rewind button erases any penalty, but Fuse wants to bring consequence back into play.
“If you crash too often, you’re sent back to the start, though you retain some meta‑progression that puts you in a stronger position,” he says. “When you’re on your last crash, you feel the weight of that risk.” The design philosophy draws heavily from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire—games built for infinite replayability.
“Racing thrives on replayability, so marrying it with roguelike structures feels like a match made in heaven,” Webster notes. This approach encourages players to experiment, learn from each run, and gradually improve, rather than relying on a static set of unlockable cars. Launching the game on October 6 places it in a busy release window, sandwiched between blockbuster titles like Control: Resonance (September 24) and Silent Hill: Townfall, and the highly anticipated GTA 6 slated for November 19. Webster acknowledges the crowded calendar but remains unfazed.
“We’ve seen even busier pre‑Christmas schedules in the past. September used to be called ‘Murderer’s Row,’ and October was packed too.
The market is competitive, but we have a healthy confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things may turn out.” Webster also reflects on the wave of industry layoffs that have swept through studios recently. Having lived through a previous round of cuts fifteen years ago, he believes great teams produce great games, and great games find their audience. He warns that an aversion to risk is limiting opportunities, and that studios willing to take calculated bets can thrive in the current environment. Funding an independent studio in 2023 has not been easy.
“Access to capital has been a real challenge,” Webster admits. “People said, ‘You’re brave starting an indie studio now.’ After 32 years at EA, I was in a bubble; this was all new to me.” He stresses that the core principles he learned at EA—building a strong team, refining a clear creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning—remain essential. Even though plans are always imperfect, they provide a framework that can be iterated upon. Fuse Games operates with a relatively small core team of about 75 people, a deliberate choice to avoid the boom‑and‑bust staffing cycles common in larger studios.
Instead, they supplement their capabilities through external development partners. “We’re not doing the grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink process,” Webster explains. “Our model is a small permanent core plus trusted partners who share our values, scaling up when needed.” The external work ranges from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full co‑development, where partner studios attend daily stand‑ups, join Slack channels, and contribute directly to the codebase. The United Kingdom, with its mature game development ecosystem, proves an ideal hub for this collaborative approach.
In the past, studios were reluctant to help each other, fearing competition. Today, many companies hire developers who are eager to work on diverse projects with different teams, keeping the talent pool fresh and motivated. Webster is convinced this hybrid model can deliver AAA‑level scope, scale and visual fidelity on a sustainable budget. The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer—starting Fuse in January 2023 and having a launch‑ready product in just three and a half years—demonstrates that the approach works.
“We built a studio, a team, and a game on Unreal Engine 5, a tool none of us had mastered at the start. It feels like an achievement, and we did it in a healthy, sustainable way.” A notable aspect of Fuse’s workforce is the infusion of younger talent alongside the veteran Criterion alumni. Some team members, including a producer, had never worked in games before joining the project. “The young talent we have is incredibly smart and effective—often more so than I was at their age,” Webster says.
He observes that senior developers sometimes prefer working with peers who need little guidance, but nurturing younger staff can be equally rewarding and energising for both parties. This insight has prompted Fuse to adjust its hiring strategy to prioritize emerging developers. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to establish an internship program to further cultivate fresh talent, though he cautions that the studio is still pre‑revenue. He points to Criterion’s successful intern pipelines as a model and acknowledges the costs involved in developing new talent.
Reflecting on the boom years five or six years ago, when well‑funded studios spun off new teams, he notes that many of those ventures underestimated the difficulty of building sustainable studios. He criticises the industry’s lingering fixation on a single “creative visionary,” calling it “bullshit” and emphasizing that games are collaborative creations.
As for Fuse’s next steps, the future remains fluid. “The launch is just the start for us,” Webster says.
“We’ll be talking to people about potential opportunities and have ideas about where we want to go next, but as an independent developer you have to stay flexible and adaptable.”