Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within Electronic Arts. He started at the company in 1990 and spent almost twenty years contributing to the iconic Burnout and Need for Speed franchises while they were under the Criterion banner, 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. Just over three years later the fledgling studio is poised to release its debut title, *Star Wars: Galactic Racer*, under the banner of the newly autonomous publisher Secret Mode.
*Galactic Racer* arrives roughly 24 years after the last Star Wars‑themed racing game, 2002’s *Racer Revenge*. In the intervening decades, pure‑arcade racing has struggled to maintain a mainstream foothold. Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for a forthcoming driving title called *Clutch*, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis noting that the market simply didn’t seem to fit the product.
Criterion itself has shifted focus away from racing toward the *Battlefield* series. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly see an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “We’re not the only ones thinking that, and the reaction we get from people watching our videos or reading our articles suggests we’re not alone.” He adds that genres tend to be cyclical.
“We went through a phase where shooters dominated, but that’s not the only cycle. As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger fan base.” Webster believes gamers are searching 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 of classic arcade racing while also exploring what can be done when you’re no longer bound by realistic tires and tarmac.
“We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano,” he explains. “Sometimes it feels like a roller‑coaster.” Beyond the high‑octane thrills, the game deliberately subverts long‑standing racing conventions. Traditionally, racing titles revolve around collecting cars—a formula that has remained largely unchanged for two decades.
Webster wants to rip that model apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One major innovation is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashing. In many modern racers, a rewind button erases any penalty, but *Galactic Racer* re‑introduces risk: excessive crashes send you back to the start, though you retain some meta‑progression that makes you slightly stronger on subsequent attempts. This risk‑reward loop forces players to weigh every maneuver, especially when they’re down to their final crash.
The design philosophy 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 structures feels like a match made in heaven,” Webster says.
The result is a title that encourages players to keep trying, learning from each failure, and gradually improving both skill and ship upgrades. Launching on October 6, *Galactic Racer* lands a month before the highly anticipated *Grand Theft Auto VI* (scheduled for November 19) and shortly after other major releases like *Control: Resonance* and *Silent Hill: Townfall* on September 24. Webster acknowledges the crowded calendar but points out that the industry has weathered even busier pre‑Christmas windows in the past. “People used to call September ‘murderer’s row,’ yet October has always been packed as well,” he notes, emphasizing that confidence tempered with realism is essential.
When asked about the wave of layoffs sweeping the industry, Webster reflects on his own long tenure. He recalls a previous bout of cuts fifteen years ago and stresses a timeless truth: great teams make great games, and great games find their audience. He argues that a pervasive aversion to risk is limiting opportunities, and that those willing to take calculated bets can thrive. However, he also admits that founding a new studio in 2023 has been far from easy, particularly regarding funding.
“People told me I was brave to start an indie studio now,” he says. “After 32 years at EA, I was stepping out of a bubble.” Fuse Games has deliberately kept its core team small—about 75 people—eschewing the typical “grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink” cycle that plagues many AAA projects.
Instead, the studio leans heavily on external development partners to fill skill gaps. This hybrid model ranges from pure outsourcing (transactional asset creation) to deep co‑development, where external studios join daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even the code base, effectively becoming extensions of Fuse.
Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a key advantage, noting that today’s studios are eager to collaborate rather than grudgingly assist. According to Webster, this approach proves that a AAA‑scale game can be built on a sustainable budget when a lean core team partners with trusted allies who share the same values. The rapid timeline of *Galactic Racer*—conceived in January 2023 and near completion just three and a half years later—demonstrates the model’s viability.
“We built a studio, assembled a team, and created a game on Unreal Engine 5 that none of us had previously mastered,” he says proudly. The studio’s talent mix also reflects a shift toward younger developers.
While several veteran Criterion staff are present, many team members are fresh to the industry, with at least one producer having never worked on a game before. “Our young talent is smarter and more effective in many ways than I was at that age,” Webster observes. He believes nurturing junior staff is more rewarding than relying solely on seasoned veterans who may prefer minimal interaction.
This philosophy has even prompted the studio to adjust its hiring strategy to prioritize emerging talent. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to establish an internship program to further cultivate newcomers, though he cautions that Fuse is still pre‑revenue.
He draws on Criterion’s successful intern pipelines as a model, acknowledging the costs involved but emphasizing the long‑term payoff of developing talent in‑house. Reflecting on a period when the industry was flush with capital, Webster recalls how many developers who rode the wave of a hit title were given funding to start their own studios—only to discover the reality was far tougher than expected. He criticizes the industry’s lingering obsession with the “single creative visionary” myth, calling it “bullshit.” In his view, games are always collaborative endeavors, and the focus should be on great teams rather than glorified individuals. As for Fuse Games’ future, Webster admits plans are still forming.
The launch of *Star Wars: Galactic Racer* is just the beginning, and the studio remains open to new opportunities while staying flexible and adaptable—qualities he deems essential for independent developers in today’s ever‑changing market.