Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started at the company in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years contributing to 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 Fuse Games, an independent studio based in the United Kingdom. Just three and a half years later the studio is on the brink of releasing its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which will be published by the newly autonomous 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 the racing genre has generally lost some of its mainstream steam. Amazon recently withdrew from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis stating that the market simply didn’t have room for another racer. Meanwhile, Criterion itself has pivoted away from racing to focus on the Battlefield franchise.
Despite these signals, Webster is convinced there remains a hungry audience for a Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly see a demand for a Star Wars‑based racer,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “Our community feedback, video views and article reads suggest we’re not the only ones who think this is a viable market.” He argues that gaming genres tend to be cyclical. “Shooters dominated for a while, but they’re not the only genre that can capture players’ attention.
As more people play video games, even the tiniest niche can grow into a sizable audience.” Webster believes gamers are looking for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen before," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The team set out to capture the instant‑gratification feel of classic arcade racers while also exploring what can be done when a game is no longer bound by realistic tyres and tarmac. “We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano,” he explains.
“It’s like a roller‑coaster that defies physics.” Beyond the high‑octane thrills, the game also seeks to upend long‑standing racing conventions. Most racing titles 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.
The result is a system that emphasizes consequential decision‑making, especially around crashing. In many modern racers, a rewind button eliminates risk; Galactic Racer re‑introduces stakes by penalising crashes.
“If you crash too often you’re sent back to the start, but you retain some meta‑progression that makes you slightly stronger,” he says. “When you’re on your last life, every risk feels weighty.” The design draws inspiration from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire—games built around infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability," Webster notes, "so marrying it with roguelike loops feels like a match made in heaven." This approach creates a bold departure from the hand‑holding that has become common in AAA releases, positioning the game as a risk‑taker in a crowded market that will also see the launch of GTA 6 in November. Galactic Racer is slated for an October 6 release, comfortably spaced from GTA 6’s November 19 debut but still landing amid a busy September‑October window that includes titles like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall.
Webster acknowledges the competitive calendar but remains confident. “The market has always been busy; October used to be called ‘Murderer’s Row.’ We have a healthy confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things might turn out.” The interview also touches on broader industry trends, particularly the wave of layoffs that has swept the sector. Webster, who has witnessed a similar contraction a decade and a half ago, emphasizes that great teams make great games, and great games find audiences.
He sees the current risk‑averse climate as an opening for studios willing to make calculated bets. “When you shy away from risk, you limit opportunity. Those who embrace it can carve out space,” he says.
Starting a new studio in 2023 has not been without hurdles. Funding was scarce, and many questioned the wisdom of launching an independent studio at that moment. Webster reflects on his 32‑year tenure at EA as a protective bubble that left him unprepared for the harsh realities of indie financing.
He stresses that the core principles he learned—building a strong team, refining a clear creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning—remain essential. “Plans are always wrong, but you work with the best version you have today, adapt, and stay true to your values,” he explains. Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core of about 75 staff, a deliberate choice to avoid the boom‑and‑bust staffing cycles common in larger studios. Instead, the studio leans heavily on external partners for additional capacity.
This hybrid model ranges from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full co‑development where external teams attend stand‑ups, join Slack channels and contribute directly to the code base. Webster points out that the UK’s mature development ecosystem makes such collaboration especially effective, noting a cultural shift from reluctant, grudging assistance to enthusiastic, mutually beneficial partnerships.
He believes this approach demonstrates that a AAA‑scale project can be delivered on a sustainable budget when a small, permanent core is augmented by trusted external talent. The rapid development timeline—starting Fuse in January 2023 and delivering a full‑fledged UE5‑powered game in just three and a half years—serves as proof of concept.
An unexpected advantage of the small‑core model has been the infusion of youthful energy. Many of the developers on Galactic Racer are early‑career professionals, and one producer had never worked in games before joining the project. "The young talent we’ve recruited is often sharper and more effective than many of the seasoned veterans I was at that age," Webster says.
He observes that senior developers sometimes prefer working with peers who need little guidance, but nurturing younger staff can be equally motivating for both parties. This insight has already reshaped Fuse’s hiring strategy.
Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalise an internship program to continue cultivating fresh talent, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue. He cites Criterion’s successful intern pipelines as a model and stresses the importance of entering such initiatives with realistic expectations about the cost and effort involved. Reflecting on the era when the industry was flush with cash, Webster recalls how many successful developers received funding to start their own studios, only to discover the challenges were greater than anticipated. He criticises the lingering industry fixation on the myth of the solitary creative visionary, calling it "bullshit." Games, he argues, are always collaborative endeavors.
As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster says the future is still being written. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and while the studio has ideas for future projects, flexibility and adaptability will remain key for an independent developer navigating an ever‑shifting market.