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 titles for Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed, which EA acquired in 2004.
In early 2023, however, Webster teamed up with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant to launch an independent studio in the United Kingdom called Fuse Games. Roughly three and a half years later the fledgling studio is poised to ship 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 an upcoming driving title called Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis stating that the market simply didn’t have room for another racer. Criterion itself has shifted focus away from cars and onto the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced that a market exists for a Star Wars‑based racing experience. “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 points out that video‑game genres tend to be cyclical. After a period in which shooters dominated the charts, other types of games inevitably return to favour. "As more and more people play video games, even the tiniest niches find a bigger audience," he explained. He believes players are hungry for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen yet," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers on that promise.
The studio’s vision is to create something fresh that stands out from the familiar formulae of traditional arcade racers. The team at Fuse wanted to capture the instant‑gratification feel of classic arcade racing while also exploring what can be done when you’re no longer bound by realistic tyres and tarmac.
"For example, we have tracks that climb up the side of an active volcano – it’s practically a roller‑coaster," Webster said. Beyond the high‑octane thrills, the game deliberately subverts long‑standing genre conventions. Most racing games have relied on a car‑collection model for the past two decades; Fuse intends to rip that structure up and borrow mechanics from other genres.
One of the most notable innovations is the emphasis on consequential decision‑making, especially around crashes. In many modern racers, a rewind button erases the penalty for a mistake, diluting tension. Galactic Racer re‑introduces real consequences: crashing too often sends you back to the start of a run, though you retain a portion of meta‑progress that puts you in a stronger position for the next attempt. "When you’re on your last crash and the system is critical, you actually feel the risk," Webster noted, highlighting how this pressure can heighten player engagement.
The game’s design also draws inspiration from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal, and Slay the Spire—games built around infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability, so marrying it with roguelike loops feels like a match made in heaven," Webster said.
This hybrid approach aims to keep players returning for new runs, experimenting with different ship builds, and mastering the ever‑changing tracks. Launching on October 6, Galactic Racer lands well before the highly anticipated GTA 6, slated for November 19, yet it follows a busy September window that includes releases like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall (September 24).
Webster acknowledges the crowded calendar but reminds us that the industry has weathered even denser pre‑Christmas schedules before. "Someone once said September looks busy, but I remember the ‘Murderer’s Row’ era where October was packed with major releases," he recalled. Fuse approaches the market with a "healthy sense of confidence," tempered by a realistic view of how the title might perform.
When asked about the wave of layoffs sweeping the sector, Webster reflected on his long tenure and the layoffs that occurred roughly fifteen years ago. "Great teams make great games, and great games find an audience," he said. He sees the current risk‑averse climate as an opening for studios willing to take calculated bets. "If you’re not willing to risk, you limit opportunity," he warned.
Starting an independent studio in 2023 has not been easy. Funding was scarce, and many questioned the wisdom of launching a new studio in such a turbulent environment. Webster described the experience as stepping out of a 32‑year bubble at EA into uncharted territory. He emphasized a set of guiding principles: assemble a talented team, refine a clear creative vision, maintain disciplined planning (while accepting that plans will inevitably be wrong), and continually review and adapt while staying true to core values.
Engaged, motivated talent, he believes, is the engine that drives great games. Fuse operates with a relatively small core team—around 75 people—for a project that aspires to AAA scope, fidelity, and ambition. This size is intentional; the studio wants to avoid the industry’s typical pattern of rapid expansion and contraction. Instead, Fuse relies heavily on external development partners to fill gaps, using a blend of transactional outsourcing for asset creation and deeper co‑development relationships where external studios participate in daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even share codebases.
Webster highlighted the UK’s mature game‑development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations, noting how attitudes have shifted from reluctant, grudging assistance to enthusiastic, value‑aligned partnerships. According to Webster, this hybrid model—small permanent core plus trusted external partners—offers a sustainable path to delivering AAA‑level experiences on a reasonable budget. The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer showcases the model’s viability: Fuse was founded in January 2023, and within three and a half years they built a studio, assembled a team, learned Unreal Engine 5 from scratch, and produced a full‑scale game. "It feels like an achievement, and we’ve done it in a healthy, sustainable way," he said.
The studio also benefits from an infusion of younger talent. While several Criterion veterans are present, many of the developers are newcomers, and one producer had never worked in games before joining Fuse. Webster praised this fresh perspective, stating that the younger team members often outperform senior hires in terms of creativity and efficiency.
He believes nurturing young talent is more rewarding than relying solely on seasoned veterans, and he hopes to formalise an internship program once the studio reaches profitability. "We haven’t made any money yet—we’re pre‑revenue—but we’ve seen how successful Criterion’s intern programs were, and we aim to replicate that," he explained.
Reflecting on the era a few years ago when the industry was flush with cash, Webster recalled how many developers received funding to start their own studios after a hit title, only to discover how difficult it truly is to succeed. He criticised the lingering myth of the "single creative visionary" as "fucking bullshit," arguing that games are always collaborative efforts.
"Unless you’re a solo developer, games are made by collaborations of individuals," he asserted. Looking ahead, Fuse Games remains flexible. While the launch of Galactic Racer marks a major milestone, Webster says the studio is already contemplating future opportunities but will stay adaptable, as independent developers must be.
"We’ve talked about the launch being just the start for this game, and we have ideas about where we want to go next, but we have to stay flexible and adaptable in this space," he concluded.