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 developing iconic titles such as Burnout and Need for Speed under 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 launch the independent UK studio Fuse Games. Fast‑forward three and a half years, and Fuse is on the verge of releasing its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which will be published by the newly independent label Secret Mode.
Star Wars: Galactic Racer marks the first Star Wars‑themed racing game since 2002’s Racer Revenge, a gap of roughly twenty‑four years. In the intervening period, traditional racing games have struggled to maintain mainstream appeal.
Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis noting that the market simply didn’t have room for another conventional racer. Meanwhile, Criterion itself has shifted focus away from racing and now contributes to the Battlefield franchise. Despite these trends, Webster remains convinced that a market exists for a Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly see an audience for a Star Wars‑based racer,” he told GamesIndustry.biz.
“Our community feedback—people watching our videos, reading our posts—suggests we’re not the only ones who think there’s demand.” He argues that gaming genres are cyclical; while shooters dominated the past decade, other genres inevitably resurface as the player base expands. “The more people who play video games, the larger even the tiniest niche becomes,” Webster said. Webster believes gamers are hungry for fresh, compelling experiences that feel novel.
He sees Galactic Racer as a vehicle for that ambition, aiming to deliver an arcade‑style thrill while also pushing the boundaries of what a racing game can be when it’s not limited by real‑world physics. “We wanted to capture the instant gratification of arcade racing, but also ask what’s possible when you’re no longer bound by tyres and tarmac,” he explained.
The result includes wild tracks that climb the side of an active volcano and sections that feel more like a roller‑coaster than a conventional circuit. Beyond the high‑octane spectacle, the game deliberately subverts long‑standing genre conventions. Traditional racers have relied on a car‑collection model for the past two decades, a formula Webster wants to discard. He draws inspiration from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal, and Slay the Spire, which emphasize infinite replayability and meaningful decision‑making.
In Galactic Racer, crashes carry weight: repeated collisions can send a player back to the start, though some meta‑progression carries over, granting a slightly stronger position on the next attempt. This risk‑reward loop forces players to weigh aggression against caution, a stark contrast to the safety nets—like rewind buttons—common in modern AAA racers.
Webster acknowledges that this design philosophy is a bold departure from the hand‑holding typical of big‑budget games, especially as the industry prepares for the release of GTA 6 in November. Galactic Racer is slated for an October 6 launch, giving it a comfortable window before the blockbuster’s debut while still landing amid a busy autumn slate that includes titles such as Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall, both arriving on September 24. He notes that crowded release windows are nothing new.
“People used to call October ‘Murderer’s Row’ because it was packed with releases,” Webster recalled. “We’re aware the market is competitive, but we have a healthy confidence tempered by realism.” His optimism is rooted in a long‑standing industry adage: good games find their audience. When asked about the wave of layoffs sweeping the sector, Webster reflected on his own experience. He remembers a similar contraction fifteen years ago and emphasizes that strong teams produce great games, which in turn attract players.
He argues that the current climate shows an aversion to risk, which can actually create opportunities for studios willing to take calculated bets. “If you shy away from risk, you limit your chances for success,” he said.
Starting an independent studio in 2023, however, has not been without challenges. Securing funding proved difficult; many investors balked at the idea of a new studio in a volatile market. Webster, who spent 32 years at EA, found the transition jarring but relied on core principles he’d learned: build a talented team, refine a clear creative vision, and maintain disciplined planning—while staying flexible enough to adapt when plans inevitably change.
Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core of about 75 staff, a deliberate choice to avoid the boom‑bust staffing cycles that plague many larger studios. Instead, Fuse leverages external partners to fill gaps, ranging from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to deep co‑development relationships where external teams attend stand‑ups, join Slack channels, and share codebases. Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a key advantage, noting that today’s external studios are eager collaborators rather than reluctant contractors. This hybrid model, he believes, demonstrates that a AAA‑scale game can be produced sustainably with a small permanent team supplemented by trusted partners.
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—serves as proof of concept. Another noteworthy aspect of Fuse’s approach is its emphasis on nurturing young talent. While the studio includes several veteran developers from Criterion, many of its team members are newcomers to the industry, and at least one producer had never worked on a game before joining. “Our younger developers are often more adaptable and bring fresh perspectives that sometimes surpass what senior staff can offer,” Webster said.
He observed that seasoned developers sometimes prefer working with peers of similar seniority, which can limit mentorship opportunities. By focusing on the growth of junior staff, Fuse hopes to foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation.
Looking ahead, Webster envisions establishing a formal internship program to further cultivate emerging talent, though he cautions that the studio is still pre‑revenue and must balance ambition with financial realities. He points to Criterion’s successful intern pipelines as a model worth emulating, acknowledging that developing talent incurs costs but can yield long‑term dividends. Reflecting on the industry’s past excesses, Webster recalls a time when successful studios received generous funding to spin off new ventures, only to discover that launching a studio is far more challenging than anticipated. He criticizes the industry’s lingering fixation on the myth of the “lone creative visionary,” calling it “bullshit” and insisting that games are inherently collaborative endeavors.
As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster admits the future remains fluid. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and while the studio has ideas for future projects, it intends to stay adaptable and responsive to market conditions. In a landscape dominated by blockbuster releases, Fuse Games aims to carve out its own niche by delivering innovative, replayable experiences that resonate with both hardcore racers and casual players alike.