Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He began at EA in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years developing titles for Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed that EA acquired in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster and several former Criterion colleagues—Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires, and Alan McDairmant—decided to strike out on their own, founding the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Just over three years later the fledgling company is poised to launch 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 generally lost some of its mainstream shine. Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for the upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis remarking that the market didn’t appear to need another racer.
Meanwhile Criterion, once a powerhouse of arcade‑style racing, has shifted its focus to the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster is convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars 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, and the response we get from people watching our videos or reading our articles suggests we’re not alone.” He points out that genres tend to be cyclical.
“Shooters dominated for a while, but that’s not the only genre that can capture players’ attention. As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger following.” Webster believes gamers are craving "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences they haven’t seen before," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The team set out to capture the instant gratification of classic arcade racing while also asking, "What can we do when we’re not bound by real‑world 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 conventional simulation. Beyond the flashy visuals, Galactic Racer is designed to upend long‑standing racing conventions.
Traditionally, racing games revolve around collecting cars—a loop that has persisted for about two decades. Webster wants to tear that model apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One such borrowing comes from roguelikes such as Hades, Returnal, and Slay the Spire, which prioritize infinite replayability and meaningful decision‑making.
In Galactic Racer, crashing isn’t just a visual setback; it carries weight. Too many crashes send you back to the start, but you retain a portion of meta‑progress, emerging from the reset in a slightly stronger position.
This creates a tension between risk and reward that mirrors the high‑stakes choices found in roguelike titles. The design philosophy also rejects the safety nets common in many AAA games. By limiting the use of rewind features and emphasizing real consequences, the game forces players to think strategically about each maneuver, especially when they’re on their final allowed crash.
Webster sees this as a bold departure from the hand‑holding that has become standard in big‑budget releases. Timing the launch is another strategic consideration.
Galactic Racer is slated for October 6, comfortably before the highly anticipated GTA 6 release on November 19, yet after other major September releases like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall (September 24). Webster acknowledges the crowded pre‑holiday window but notes that the industry has weathered even busier schedules before. "Someone once said September looks busy, but I remember the old 'murderers' row' in October—there’s always been a way through," he says, adding that Fuse Games maintains a “healthy sense of confidence” tempered by realistic expectations.
When discussing the wave of layoffs sweeping the industry, Webster reflects on his own long tenure. He recalls a previous round of cuts about fifteen years ago and observes that strong teams produce great games, which in turn find audiences. He argues that the current risk‑averse climate actually creates opportunities for studios willing to take calculated bets.
“If you’re not willing to risk, you limit your chances,” he notes. Funding, however, remains a hurdle for new independent studios. Webster admits that securing capital in 2023 was challenging, with many questioning the wisdom of launching a studio at that time.
After thirty‑two years at EA, he found himself back in a bubble of uncertainty, forced to rely on core principles: building a solid team, refining a clear creative vision, and staying disciplined while remaining adaptable. He emphasizes that an engaged, motivated team is the engine of great games, and that leadership’s job is to nurture that motivation.
Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core—about 75 people—by design. Rather than expanding and contracting staff in response to project demands, the studio leverages external partners for additional capacity. This hybrid model blends transactional outsourcing for asset creation with deeper co‑development relationships where external studios join daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even the codebase. Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as especially conducive to such collaboration, noting a cultural shift from reluctant assistance to enthusiastic partnership.
The result, he believes, is a sustainable approach to AAA‑scale production. In just three and a half years, Fuse built a studio, assembled a team, and delivered a game on Unreal Engine 5—an engine none of them had mastered at the outset. That rapid timeline, he says, validates the efficacy of the small‑core‑plus‑external‑partners model.
Another noteworthy aspect of Fuse’s journey is the infusion of youthful talent. While the studio includes seasoned Criterion veterans, many of its developers are newcomers, and one producer had never worked in games before. Webster praises this fresh perspective, claiming the younger staff often outperform older colleagues in both creativity and efficiency. He observes that seasoned developers sometimes prefer senior coworkers who require minimal interaction, a mindset that can stifle growth.
By pivoting talent searches toward younger, eager individuals, Fuse has cultivated a dynamic environment that fuels innovation. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to further nurture emerging talent, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue and financially cautious. He cites Criterion’s successful intern initiatives as a model and acknowledges the cost of developing talent, urging any studio to approach such programs with eyes wide open.
Reflecting on a period when the industry was flush with cash, Webster remembers how many successful developers were handed funding to start their own studios, only to discover the challenges of independence. He criticizes the industry’s lingering fixation on the myth of a singular creative visionary, calling it "bullshit" and insisting that games are always the product of collaborative effort. As for Fuse’s next steps, the future remains fluid. The studio sees the launch of Galactic Racer as just the beginning and is open to exploring new opportunities, but stresses that adaptability is essential for independent developers today.
In Webster’s view, the combination of a tight core team, strategic external partnerships, and a willingness to take measured risks positions Fuse Games to thrive in an ever‑evolving market.