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 developing iconic franchises such as Burnout and Need for Speed at Criterion, the studio EA acquired in 2004.
Yet in early 2023 Webster, together with fellow Criterion alumni Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to step away from the corporate behemoth and launch their own independent UK studio, Fuse Games. Three and a half years later the fledgling studio is on the brink of releasing its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which will be published by the newly independent label 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 traditional racing titles have lost much of their mainstream appeal. Amazon recently abandoned a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for the upcoming driving game Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis commenting that the market simply didn’t have room for another racer.
Meanwhile, Criterion itself has shifted its focus from pure racing to the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars‑styled racing experience. "We clearly think there’s an audience for a Star Wars racing game," Webster 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." He argues that video‑game genres tend to be cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other genres inevitably resurface as the player base broadens. "The more people play video games, the more even the tiniest niches can find a sizable audience," he explains. According to Webster, modern gamers are craving "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences they haven’t seen before," and he believes Galactic Racer delivers exactly that.
The team set out to capture the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also asking, "What can we do when we’re no longer bound by tyres and tarmac?" The answer is a series of wildly imaginative tracks, including courses that race up the side of an active volcano, turning each lap into a roller‑coaster‑like spectacle. Beyond the flashy visuals, Galactic Racer seeks to upend long‑standing genre conventions.
For decades, most racing games have hinged on a car‑collection model that rarely changes. "Let’s rip that up and steal ideas from other genres," Webster says.
One of the most radical changes is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashing. In many modern racers, a rewind button erases penalties, but Fuse wants crashes to matter. When a player crashes too often, they are sent back to the start of the run, though they retain some meta‑progression that makes subsequent attempts slightly stronger.
This risk‑reward loop forces players to weigh the temptation of aggressive driving against the danger of losing valuable time. Webster cites roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire as inspirations for the game’s design philosophy.
Those games are built around infinite replayability, a quality that dovetails naturally with racing, a genre that thrives on repeated runs and incremental improvement. By blending the procedural, high‑stakes nature of roguelikes with the adrenaline of arcade racing, Fuse hopes to create a "match made in heaven" that encourages players to keep coming back for more. Releasing the game on October 6 places it in a busy window that includes heavyweight launches like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall (September 24) and the much‑anticipated GTA 6 slated for November 19. Webster acknowledges the crowded calendar but points out that the industry has weathered even busier pre‑holiday schedules before.
"Someone once said September looks busy, but I remember the ‘Murderer’s Row’ era when October was packed with releases," he recalls. He emphasizes that Fuse approaches the market with a "healthy sense of confidence" tempered by realistic expectations. The interview also touches on broader industry trends, particularly the wave of layoffs that has swept through major publishers.
Webster, who has witnessed a similar downsizing period fifteen years ago, believes that great teams still produce great games, and great games will ultimately find an audience. He warns that a prevailing aversion to risk is limiting opportunities, but also argues that those willing to take calculated bets can thrive.
Starting an independent studio in 2023 has not been without challenges. Securing funding proved difficult, with many investors questioning the wisdom of launching a new studio in a turbulent market. After thirty‑two years at EA, Webster found himself navigating a completely different landscape. He relied on core principles he’d learned over his career: assemble a talented team, refine a clear creative vision, and maintain disciplined planning while staying flexible enough to adapt when the plan inevitably goes awry.
"Engaged and motivated talent makes great things," he says, underscoring the importance of nurturing people rather than merely managing them. Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core staff of about 75 people, a deliberate choice to avoid the industry’s typical "grow‑shrink‑grow" cycle.
Instead, the studio leans on external development partners to fill gaps, ranging from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full co‑development arrangements where external teams sit in on daily stand‑ups, Slack channels and even share the codebase. Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations, noting that today’s studios are more willing to partner than in the past, when companies often helped each other only out of necessity. Webster believes this hybrid model—small permanent team plus trusted external partners—offers a sustainable path to producing AAA‑level games on a reasonable budget.
The rapid development of Galactic Racer illustrates the model’s effectiveness: Fuse was founded in January 2023, and within three and a half years they have built a studio, assembled a team, learned Unreal Engine 5 from scratch, and delivered a full‑scale title. The studio also benefits from a fresh influx of younger developers.
Several producers on Galactic Racer had never worked in games before, and Webster praises their energy and ingenuity. He observes that seasoned veterans sometimes prefer to work with senior colleagues who need little guidance, but that approach can stifle growth. By focusing on mentoring younger talent, Fuse has discovered a productivity boost and a more dynamic workplace culture.
Webster hopes to formalise an internship program in the future, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue and must balance ambition with fiscal reality. Reflecting on the era when the industry was flush with capital, Webster recalls how many successful teams were handed funding to start their own studios, only to discover the reality was far tougher than expected. He criticises the lingering myth of the "singular creative visionary" as "fucking bullshit," insisting that games are always the product of collaborative effort. Looking ahead, Fuse Games remains open‑minded about its next steps.
While the launch of Star Wars: Galactic Racer is a major milestone, Webster says the studio will continue to explore new opportunities, staying flexible and adaptable as an independent developer in a constantly shifting market. The team’s confidence, innovative design choices, and commitment to nurturing talent suggest they may well carve out a lasting niche in the ever‑evolving world of video games.