Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started at EA in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years working on iconic franchises such as Burnout and Need for Speed through Criterion, the studio EA acquired in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster, together with fellow Criterion alumni 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 over three years later the fledgling studio is poised to launch its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which will be published by the newly independent label Secret Mode. The timing of Galactic Racer’s release is noteworthy. It arrives roughly 24 years after the last Star Wars‑themed racing game, 2002’s Racer Revenge, and it does so in an era where traditional racing games have struggled to capture mainstream attention.
Recent industry news underscores this trend: Amazon pulled the plug on a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for the upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis commenting that the market simply didn’t have a fit for the product. Meanwhile, Criterion itself has shifted its focus away from pure racing experiences toward the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is a viable audience for a Star Wars racing adventure. “We clearly 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 and reading our articles suggests we’re not alone.” Webster argues that video‑game genres are cyclical. He notes that while shooters dominated the market for a period, other genres inevitably rise again as the player base expands. “As more and more people play video games, even the tiniest of niches find a bigger audience,” he says. He believes gamers are hungry for fresh, compelling experiences they haven’t seen before, and he sees Galactic Racer as delivering exactly that.
The studio’s vision is to blend the instant gratification of classic arcade racing with the creative freedom that comes from being untethered from real‑world constraints such as tyres and tarmac. “We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano,” Webster explains. “Sometimes it feels like a roller‑coaster.” Beyond the high‑octane thrills, Galactic Racer aims to overturn long‑standing conventions in the racing genre.
Traditionally, racing games have centered on car collection—a formula that has remained largely unchanged for two decades. Webster wants to “rip that up” 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 nullifies the penalty of a mistake, but Webster wants to restore risk.
“If you crash too many times you’re sent back to the start, but you keep some meta‑progression that puts you in a stronger position,” he explains. “When you’re on your last crash, you start weighing the risk you’re taking.” The game’s design is heavily inspired by roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire—games built around infinite replayability. “Racing thrives on replayability, so combining it with roguelike principles feels like a match made in heaven,” Webster says. This hybrid approach means each run feels fresh, with procedural elements and a persistent progression system that rewards perseverance while still punishing reckless driving.
Releasing a new IP in a crowded calendar is a gamble, especially with heavyweight titles like GTA 6 slated for November 19. Fuse Games has chosen an October 6 launch, giving the game a window before the massive GTA release while still following other big launches such as Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall on September 24. Webster acknowledges the competitive landscape but remains confident. “The market has always been busy in September and October—people used to call it ‘Murderer’s Row.’ We have a healthy sense of confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things might turn out,” he says.
“Good games will find a way.” When reflecting on the wave of layoffs sweeping the industry, Webster sees a pattern: great teams make great games, and great games find an audience. He observes a growing aversion to risk among larger publishers, which creates opportunities for studios willing to take calculated bets. “If you’re not willing to risk, you limit yourself,” he notes. “Those who are brave enough to push forward can capture the space left behind.” Funding an independent studio in 2023 has not been easy.
Webster recounts the skepticism he faced when he left EA after 32 years. “People said, ‘You’re brave doing an independent studio in 2023.’ It felt like a shock because I’d been in a bubble for so long,” he recalls.
His guiding principles have remained the same: assemble a talented team, refine a clear creative vision, and maintain discipline while staying flexible enough to adapt when plans change. He emphasizes that engaged, motivated talent is the engine that drives great games.
Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core team—around 75 people—for a project of AAA scope. This deliberate size avoids the industry’s typical “grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink” cycle. Instead, Fuse leans on external development partners to fill gaps, ranging from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full co‑development where external studios sit in on stand‑ups, Slack channels and even share codebases. Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations.
“In the past, other studios would help you reluctantly, just to keep the lights on. Now there are companies that actively want to work on diverse projects with different teams, keeping everyone fresh and excited.” Webster believes this hybrid model—small permanent core plus trusted external partners—offers a sustainable path to AAA‑level quality without the massive budgets traditionally required. The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer illustrates this point. Fuse was founded in January 2023; three and a half years later the team has built a studio, assembled a crew, and created a game on Unreal Engine 5—a technology none of them had mastered at the outset.
“It feels like an achievement, and we’ve done it in a healthy, sustainable way,” he says. A notable aspect of Fuse’s culture is its emphasis on young talent.
Alongside the Criterion veterans, the studio has hired many developers early in their careers, even bringing on a producer who had never worked in games before. “The younger talent we’ve got is smarter and more effective in many ways than I was at that age,” Webster remarks. He argues that nurturing junior staff not only fuels innovation but also creates a more collaborative environment than relying solely on seasoned veterans who may prefer to work in isolation.
The studio plans to eventually launch an intern program, though it remains pre‑revenue and cautious about the costs involved. Looking back to the mid‑2010s, when the industry enjoyed abundant funding, Webster recalls a period when successful developers were handed capital to start their own studios, only to discover the challenges were far greater than anticipated. He criticizes the industry’s lingering fascination with the “single creative visionary” myth, calling it “bullshit.” In his view, games are always the product of collaborative effort, not the singular genius of one individual.
As for what lies ahead for Fuse Games, Webster admits the future is still being written. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and the studio remains open to exploring new opportunities and directions. “Independent developers today need to be flexible and adaptable,” he says. “We have ideas about where we want to go, but we’ll let the market and our own growth dictate the next steps."