Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He began his tenure at EA in 1990 and spent almost twenty years contributing to the acclaimed Burnout and Need for Speed franchises while working at Criterion, the studio EA acquired in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster, together with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant, decided to strike out on their own and founded the independent UK studio Fuse Games.
Just over three years later the fledgling studio is poised to launch its debut title, *Star Wars: Galactic Racer*, which will be published by the newly autonomous label Secret Mode. The timing of *Galactic Racer* is noteworthy. The last Star Wars‑themed racing game, *Racer Revenge*, hit shelves in 2002—over two decades ago.
In the intervening years, the broader racing genre has lost some of its mainstream momentum. Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for a forthcoming driving title called *Clutch*, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis explaining that the market simply didn’t seem 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 remains convinced there is still 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 of fans, the people who watch our videos and read our posts, they’re telling us they want it too.” He argues that gaming genres are cyclical: “We went through a phase where shooters dominated, but that doesn’t mean other genres can’t re‑emerge.
As more people play games, even the tiniest niches can find a sizable following.” Webster believes players 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 racers while also asking, “What could we do if we weren’t limited by real‑world tyres and tarmac?” The answer, according to Webster, is tracks that climb the sides of active volcanoes, courses that feel like roller‑coasters, and other gravity‑defying set‑pieces that would be impossible in a conventional driving game.
Beyond the high‑octane thrills, *Galactic Racer* seeks to upend long‑standing conventions of the genre. Most racing games have relied on a car‑collection model for the past twenty‑plus years. Webster wants to tear that formula apart and borrow mechanics from other genres.
One of the most radical changes is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashing. In many modern racers, a “rewind” button erases the penalty for a mistake, but Fuse wants to bring risk back into the equation.
When a player crashes too often, they are sent back to the start of the run, yet they retain a portion of their meta‑progression, emerging in a slightly stronger position. This creates a tension between risk and reward that forces players to think strategically about each maneuver. The design philosophy also draws inspiration from roguelike titles such as *Hades*, *Returnal* and *Slay the Spire*.
Those games are built around infinite replayability, and Webster sees a natural synergy with racing, a genre that thrives on repeated attempts to shave seconds off a lap time. By incorporating procedural elements, persistent upgrades, and a loop that rewards learning from failure, *Galactic Racer* aims to feel fresh on every play‑through. Launching the game on October 6 places it in a crowded pre‑holiday window, sandwiched between major releases like *Control: Resonance* and *Silent Hill: Townfall* (both September 24) and the highly anticipated *GTA 6* slated for November 19.
Webster acknowledges the competition but points out that the industry has always endured busy release calendars. “People used to call September ‘murderer’s row,’ and October has always been packed.
We’re confident, but we keep a realistic view of how things might unfold,” he said. When asked about the wave of layoffs sweeping the sector, Webster reflected on his own long tenure and the previous round of cuts fifteen years ago. “Great teams make great games, and great games find an audience,” he observed. He warned that a growing aversion to risk is limiting opportunities, and that studios willing to take calculated bets will reap the rewards.
Starting an independent studio in 2023 has not been without its hurdles. Funding was hard to secure; many industry insiders questioned the wisdom of launching a new studio in a turbulent market. Webster, who spent 32 years inside EA’s corporate bubble, had to adapt quickly. He relied on a set of guiding principles: assemble a talented team, sharpen a clear creative vision, devise a disciplined yet flexible plan, and stay true to core values.
He emphasized that a motivated, engaged team is the engine that drives exceptional work. Fuse Games remains relatively lean for a AAA‑scale project, employing roughly 75 people. This size is intentional. Rather than inflating and deflating the staff roster—a pattern Webster describes as “grow, shrink, grow, shrink”—the studio leans on external partners to fill skill gaps.
The 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. According to Webster, the UK’s mature development ecosystem makes it an ideal hub for such collaborations, as many firms now welcome rotating talent and diverse project assignments. Webster believes this hybrid approach can deliver AAA‑level scope, visual fidelity and polish on a more sustainable budget. The rapid development timeline of *Galactic Racer*—just three and a half years from Fuse’s founding to a near‑complete product built on Unreal Engine 5—demonstrates the viability of the model.
The studio’s roster blends veteran Criterion alumni with a wave of younger developers, some of whom have never worked in games before. “Our young talent is astonishingly smart and effective—often more so than I was at their age,” Webster remarked.
He noted that senior developers sometimes prefer to work with equally senior colleagues, which can limit mentorship opportunities. By pivoting hiring practices toward nurturing fresh talent, Fuse hopes to build a culture of continuous learning and innovation. Looking ahead, Webster envisions an internship program to further cultivate emerging creators, though he cautions that the studio is still pre‑revenue and must manage costs carefully. He reflects on a period five or six years ago when the industry was flush with cash and many successful developers launched their own studios, only to discover the challenges were greater than expected.
He criticizes the industry’s lingering fascination with the myth of the “single creative visionary,” calling it “bullshit.” In his view, games are always the product of collaborative effort. As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster admits the future is still being written.
The launch of *Star Wars: Galactic Racer* is just the opening chapter, and the studio remains open to exploring new opportunities while staying adaptable. The team’s confidence, tempered by realism, reflects a belief that good games will ultimately find their audience—no matter how niche the market may appear.