Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within Electronic Arts. He began at EA in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years contributing to Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed, before EA acquired it in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster teamed up with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant to launch the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Three and a half years later the fledgling studio is on the verge 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 moment 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 stating, “we didn’t see a real fit in the market for that game.” Meanwhile, Criterion itself has shifted focus from pure racing to the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still demand for a Star Wars racing experience.
“We clearly see an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “Our community, the people watching our videos and reading our articles, tells us we’re not alone in that belief.” He argues that video‑game genres are cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other styles inevitably rise again.
“As more people play games, even the tiniest niche can find a larger audience,” Webster said. He believes players are hungry for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences they haven’t seen before," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. Fuse set out to capture the instant‑gratification feel of classic arcade racers while also asking, "What can we do when we’re no longer bound by tyres and tarmac?" The answer includes tracks that climb the side of an active volcano, courses that feel more like roller‑coasters than highways, and other over‑the‑top environments that would be impossible in a realistic driving sim.
Beyond the thrills, Webster says the game deliberately subverts long‑standing racing conventions. For two decades most racers have built their progression around car collection; Galactic Racer throws that away and borrows mechanics from other genres. One of the most radical changes is the re‑introduction of meaningful consequences for crashing. In many modern racers a rewind button erases penalty, but Webster wants each crash to matter.
The game adopts a roguelike‑inspired structure, taking cues from titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire, which are designed for infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability," he noted, "so combining it with roguelike loops feels like a match made in heaven." When a player crashes too often they are sent back to the start, but they retain a layer of meta‑progression that makes the next attempt slightly stronger. The looming risk of a final crash forces players to weigh daring maneuvers against the safety of a more conservative approach. Webster acknowledges that launching a new IP in a crowded calendar is risky, especially with blockbuster releases like GTA 6 slated for November 19.
Galactic Racer is slated for October 6, giving it a comfortable gap from the GTA launch while still sitting among other high‑profile drops such as Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall on September 24. "September looks busy, but October has always been busy too," he recalled, referencing the old industry term "murderer’s row" for a packed release window.
Fuse approaches the market with a "healthy sense of confidence" tempered by a realistic view of possible outcomes. The conversation also touches on the broader industry climate, particularly the wave of layoffs.
Webster, who has witnessed a similar downsizing period fifteen years ago, believes great teams produce great games, and great games find audiences. He sees the current aversion to risk as an opening for studios willing to make calculated bets. Yet he admits that securing funding for an independent studio in 2023 was challenging.
After 32 years at EA, stepping into a startup felt like stepping into the unknown. His guiding principle became building a strong team, refining a clear creative vision, and remaining disciplined enough to adapt when the plan inevitably shifts.
Fuse operates with a relatively lean core—about 75 people—by design. Rather than the typical grow‑shrink‑grow cycle, the studio relies heavily on external partners for additional capacity. This hybrid model ranges from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full co‑development, where external studios attend daily stand‑ups, share 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 external studios are eager to work on varied projects, keeping their talent fresh and motivated.
The result, he says, is a sustainable way to produce a AAA‑scale game without the financial bloat that traditionally accompanies large internal teams. The rapid development timeline—Fuse was founded in January 2023 and has a finished product in just three and a half years—demonstrates the viability of this approach. "We built a studio, a team, and a game on Unreal Engine 5, a tool none of us previously mastered, and we did it in a healthy, sustainable manner," Webster said.
Another notable aspect is the infusion of younger developers. Several team members, including one producer, had never worked in games before joining Fuse. Webster praises their fresh perspectives, claiming they often outperform more seasoned colleagues in creativity and efficiency. He observes that seasoned developers sometimes prefer senior co‑workers who need minimal guidance, which can stifle mentorship.
Fuse has therefore pivoted its hiring strategy to prioritize nurturing emerging talent, and Webster hopes to formalize an internship program once the studio becomes revenue‑positive. Reflecting on the past era when abundant funding allowed successful developers to spin off their own studios, Webster cautions that money alone does not guarantee success.
He criticizes the industry’s lingering fixation on the myth of the solitary creative visionary, calling it "bullshit" and emphasizing that games are fundamentally collaborative endeavors. Looking ahead, Fuse’s roadmap remains fluid.
The launch of Galactic Racer is just the first step; the studio is already contemplating future opportunities but remains committed to staying adaptable in a fast‑changing independent landscape. The overarching message is clear: by blending arcade thrills, roguelike replay loops, and a collaborative development model, Fuse Games aims to prove that even the smallest niches can capture a sizable, enthusiastic audience.