Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started 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 joined forces 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 three and a half years later the fledgling studio is on the verge of releasing its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which will be published by the newly independent 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 largely slipped out of the mainstream spotlight.
Recent industry news underscores this trend: Amazon cancelled 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. Criterion itself has shifted focus away from racing to work on the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a viable audience for a Star Wars racing experience. "We definitely think there’s a market for a Star Wars‑based racing game," he told GamesIndustry.biz.
"Our community of fans, the people who watch our streams and read our posts, seem to be asking for it as well. Genres tend to be cyclical; after a period where shooters dominated, other types start to resurface. As the overall player base expands, even the smallest niches can find a larger 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 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 more like roller‑coasters than highways, and a host of other physics‑defying tricks.
Beyond the high‑octane thrills, the game aims to upend long‑standing racing conventions. Traditionally, racing games 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 of the most notable innovations is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashing. In many modern racers, a rewind button erases mistakes, making crashes feel inconsequential. Galactic Racer reinstates risk by penalising repeated crashes: after a certain number of failures, the player is sent back to the start of the run, though they retain some meta‑progression that puts them in a stronger position for the next attempt. This creates a tension similar to that found in roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal, and Slay the Spire, where each run is designed for infinite replayability.
The consequence system forces players to weigh risk versus reward, especially when they are on their final allowed crash. "When you’re down to your last life and the system is critical, you literally lean forward and think about the gamble you’re taking," Webster explained. This design choice is a deliberate departure from the hand‑holding that has become common in many AAA releases, and it reflects the studio’s desire to stand out in a crowded market that will also see heavyweight launches like GTA 6, Control: Resonance, and Silent Hill: Townfall later in the year. Webster acknowledges that releasing a new IP in such a packed calendar is risky, but he maintains a "healthy sense of confidence" tempered by realistic expectations.
"I’ve always been told that good games find a way," he said. "We’re hoping ours does too." The conversation then turned to the broader industry climate, particularly the wave of layoffs that has swept through game development over the past year.
Webster, who has witnessed similar cut‑backs fifteen years ago, sees a pattern: great teams make great games, and great games attract audiences. He argues that the current risk‑averse mindset among publishers creates opportunities for studios willing to take calculated bets.
"If you’re not willing to risk, you miss out on the chance to create something truly innovative," he noted. Funding, however, has not been easy for Fuse. Starting an independent studio in 2023 was met with skepticism: "People said, ‘You’re brave doing an indie studio now,’" Webster recalled. After 32 years at EA, he had to adapt his approach, focusing on building a tight, motivated team, refining a clear creative vision, and staying disciplined enough to iterate on a plan that is always imperfect.
Fuse operates with a core team of roughly 75 people—small by AAA standards—but this size is intentional. Rather than expanding and contracting staff in response to project needs, the studio relies heavily on external partners for additional capacity. This hybrid model blends outsourcing (transactional asset creation) with co‑development, where partner studios become an extension of Fuse’s own daily workflow, joining stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even the codebase. Webster highlighted the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a key advantage, noting that today’s external studios are eager to collaborate on diverse projects rather than merely keeping themselves afloat.
According to Webster, this approach proves that a AAA‑scale game can be produced on a sustainable budget when a small permanent core is supplemented by trusted external teams that share the same values. The speed of Galactic Racer’s development—just three and a half years from Fuse’s founding to a near‑ready product built on Unreal Engine 5—demonstrates the viability of the model. Another striking aspect of Fuse’s strategy is its emphasis on young talent. While the studio includes veterans from Criterion, many of its developers are newcomers, and even one producer had never worked in games before joining the project.
"The younger developers are often smarter and more effective than I was at their age," Webster said, adding that the studio has seen greater success with fresh talent than with senior hires who sometimes prefer to work in isolation. He believes nurturing young creators not only benefits the individuals but also energises the whole team. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalise an internship program to further cultivate emerging talent, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue and must be mindful of the costs involved.
He reflects on a period five or six years ago when the industry was flush with cash and many successful teams received funding to spin off their own studios, only to discover the challenges of running an independent operation. "The money should have gone to great teams, not just to superstar developers," he argued, dismissing the myth of the solitary creative visionary as "bullshit". In reality, games are the product of collaborative effort. As for Fuse’s next steps, the future remains open‑ended.
The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and the studio is already contemplating potential partnerships and new directions. Webster emphasizes flexibility and adaptability as essential traits for independent developers in today’s volatile market. In summary, Matt Webster’s journey—from a long tenure at EA to founding a lean, innovative studio—illustrates how a clear vision, willingness to experiment with genre conventions, and a commitment to fostering young talent can carve out space for niche experiences like a Star Wars arcade racer, even as the broader industry grapples with risk aversion and shifting player preferences.