Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within Electronic Arts. He started at the company in 1990 and spent nearly twenty years developing titles for the Burnout and Need for Speed series through Criterion, which EA acquired in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster left EA together with several former Criterion colleagues—Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant—to launch the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Three and a half years later the fledgling studio is poised to release 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*. In the intervening years the racing genre has lost some of its mainstream appeal.
Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for the upcoming title *Clutch*, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis noting that the market simply didn’t seem to fit the product. Criterion, once a powerhouse of arcade‑style racers, has shifted its focus to the *Battlefield* franchise.
Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced that a demand exists for a new Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly see an audience for a Star Wars‑based racer,” he told GamesIndustry.biz.
“Our community, the people who watch our videos and read our posts, suggests we’re not the only ones who think this. Genres are cyclical—shooters dominated for a while, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only viable genre. As the overall player base expands, even the smallest niches can attract a sizable following.” Webster believes gamers are hungry 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 racers while also exploring what becomes possible when you detach from the constraints of real‑world tyres and tarmac.
“We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano,” he explained. “Sometimes it feels more like a roller‑coaster than a traditional circuit.” Beyond the high‑octane thrills, Fuse is deliberately subverting long‑standing racing conventions. The typical model—collecting cars over a series of seasons—has remained unchanged for roughly two decades.
Webster wants to “rip that up” and borrow mechanics from other genres. One such experiment is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashes. In many modern racers a rewind button erases any penalty, but *Galactic Racer* restores risk: excessive crashes send you back to the start, though you retain some meta‑progression that puts you in a stronger position for the next attempt.
This risk‑reward loop forces players to weigh each maneuver carefully, especially when they are down to their final allowed crash. The design philosophy draws heavily from roguelike titles such as *Hades*, *Returnal* and *Slay the Spire*, games built around infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability," Webster notes, "so pairing it with roguelike structures feels like a match made in heaven." The result is a game that encourages players to experiment, learn from failure, and return stronger each time—a departure from the hand‑holding that has become common in many AAA releases. Timing the launch is also a strategic decision.
*Galactic Racer* is slated for 6 October, comfortably ahead of the highly anticipated *GTA 6* launch on 19 November, yet close enough to other major releases like *Control: Resonance* and *Silent Hill: Townfall* on 24 September. Webster acknowledges the crowded autumn window, recalling past years when September was dubbed “murderers’ row.” He remains confident, describing Fuse’s outlook as a “healthy sense of confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things may turn out.” The conversation inevitably turns to the broader industry climate, especially the wave of layoffs that has swept through studios in recent months. Webster, who has witnessed a similar contraction about fifteen years ago, argues that great teams produce great games, and great games find their audiences. He sees the current risk‑averse environment as an opening for studios willing to take calculated bets.
“If you avoid risk, you limit opportunity,” he says. Running an independent studio in 2023 has not been without challenges.
Securing funding proved difficult; many investors questioned the wisdom of launching a new studio at a time when the market seemed hostile. Webster reflects on his 32‑year tenure at EA as a “bubble” and explains how he applied core principles—building a solid team, refining a clear creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning—to navigate the uncertainty.
He emphasizes that a motivated, engaged team is the engine behind any successful project. Fuse’s staffing model is deliberately lean. The core team numbers around 75 people, far smaller than a typical AAA development house. Rather than expanding and contracting staff in response to project phases, Fuse relies on external partners to fill gaps.
This hybrid approach blends transactional outsourcing for asset creation with deeper co‑development relationships where external studios attend daily stand‑ups, share Slack channels, and contribute directly to the codebase. Webster points to the UK’s mature game development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaboration, noting that today’s external studios are eager to work on varied projects, keeping their talent fresh and motivated. Webster believes this model—small permanent core plus trusted external partners—could become the blueprint for sustainable AAA development. It allows a studio to deliver a high‑budget‑level experience while keeping the overall budget manageable.
The rapid development timeline of *Galactic Racer*—just three and a half years from Fuse’s founding to a near‑ready product built on Unreal Engine 5—serves as proof of concept. Another noteworthy aspect is Fuse’s infusion of youthful talent. While the studio includes veterans from Criterion, many of its developers are newcomers, and at least one producer had never worked in games before joining the project. Webster praises this fresh perspective, stating that younger team members often bring smarter, more efficient approaches than he could have imagined at the same age.
He observes that seasoned developers sometimes prefer senior colleagues who need little guidance, but nurturing junior talent can be equally rewarding and can drive the whole team forward. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to continue attracting emerging talent, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue and must be realistic about the costs involved. He reflects on a period five or six years ago when abundant funding allowed successful developers to spin off their own studios, only to discover that financial backing alone does not guarantee success. The industry’s fixation on a “single creative visionary”—a notion Webster calls “fucking bullshit”—has given way to a more collaborative reality: games are made by groups of individuals, not lone geniuses.
As for Fuse’s future beyond *Galactic Racer*, Webster says plans are still fluid. The launch will be just the beginning, and the studio remains open to exploring new opportunities and ideas. Flexibility and adaptability, he concludes, are essential for any independent developer navigating today’s ever‑changing market.