Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within Electronic Arts. He began at EA in 1990 and spent almost twenty years contributing to Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed, before EA acquired it in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster teamed up with former Criterion colleagues—Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires, and Alan McDairmant—to launch the independent UK studio 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 independent publisher Secret Mode.
The new game arrives roughly 24 years after the last Star Wars‑themed racing experience, *Racer Revenge* (2002), and it does so at a time when traditional racing games have struggled to capture mainstream interest. Amazon recently abandoned a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title *Clutch*, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis noting that the market didn’t appear to accommodate that kind of product. Meanwhile, Criterion itself has shifted focus away from racing and now works on the *Battlefield* franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still a hungry audience for a Star Wars racing game.
“We clearly see a demand for a Star Wars‑based racer,” he told *GamesIndustry.biz*. “Our community, the people who watch our videos and read our posts, also suggests we’re not alone in thinking this.” He adds that video‑game genres tend to be cyclical. “Shooters dominated for a while, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only viable genre. As more people play games, even the tiniest niches can find a sizable fan base.” Webster believes gamers are craving "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences 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 can we do when we’re no longer bound by tyres and tarmac?" The answer, he says, is tracks that climb the sides of active volcanoes and courses that feel more like roller‑coasters than conventional circuits. Beyond the high‑octane thrills, *Galactic Racer* deliberately subverts long‑standing racing conventions.
Traditionally, racing games revolve around collecting cars—a formula that has persisted for two decades. Webster wants to tear that model 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 nullifies any penalty, but Fuse wants crashes to matter. "If you crash too often, you’re sent back to the start, but you keep some meta‑progression that makes you a bit stronger," he explains. "When you’re on your last allowed crash, the tension is real—you start weighing the risk of each maneuver." The game’s structure draws inspiration from roguelike titles such as *Hades*, *Returnal*, and *Slay the Spire*, which are built around infinite replayability.
"Racing thrives on replay value, so combining it with roguelike loops feels like a perfect match," Webster says. Each run is a fresh attempt, with procedural elements, persistent upgrades, and a constantly shifting set of challenges that keep players coming back for more. Launching in a crowded calendar, *Galactic Racer* is set for October 6, a comfortable gap before the highly anticipated *GTA 6* (due November 19) and after other major releases like *Control: Resonance* and *Silent Hill: Townfall* (both September 24). Webster notes that the industry has long dealt with packed September and October windows, recalling the old "murderers’ row" of releases.
He acknowledges the competition but says Fuse Games approaches it with “a healthy confidence tempered by a realistic view of how things might turn out.” When asked about the wave of layoffs sweeping the industry, Webster reflects on his long tenure. He remembers a similar downsizing period fifteen years ago and points out that great teams produce great games, and great games find audiences. He argues that the current climate shows an aversion to risk, which paradoxically creates opportunities for studios willing to take calculated bets. “If you’re too cautious, you limit yourself; if you’re willing to push boundaries, you can carve out a niche,” he says.
Funding an independent studio in 2023 has not been easy. “People told me it was brave to start a studio now,” Webster recalls. After 32 years at EA, he stepped out of his comfort zone. He relies on a set of principles he’s learned over his career: build a solid team, refine a clear creative vision, maintain disciplined planning (while accepting that plans are always imperfect), and stay true to core values.
Engaged, motivated talent, he believes, is the engine that drives exceptional games. Fuse Games operates with a relatively small core team—about 75 people—for a title that aspires to AAA quality. This is intentional.
Rather than inflating and deflating staff numbers, the studio leans on external partners to fill gaps. "We avoid the grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink cycle," Webster explains. "Our model is a lean permanent core supplemented by trusted partners who share our values, whether they’re providing transactional asset creation or acting as a true co‑development extension, sitting in our stand‑ups, Slack channels, and codebase." The UK, he notes, is an ideal hub for such collaboration because of its mature game‑development ecosystem.
In the past, external studios often helped out of necessity and with reluctance, but today many companies actively seek diverse projects and enjoy the fresh perspective that comes from working with different teams. This cultural shift makes co‑development smoother and more mutually beneficial. Webster is convinced this hybrid model can deliver AAA‑scale scope, fidelity, and scope on a sustainable budget. The rapid development timeline of *Galactic Racer*—starting Fuse in January 2023 and delivering a full UE5‑powered game in just three and a half years—demonstrates the viability of the approach.
"None of us had deep UE5 experience when we began, yet we built a studio, a team, and a game. It feels like an achievement, and we did it sustainably," he says. A notable aspect of Fuse’s workforce is the blend of veteran Criterion talent with a wave of younger developers, some of whom had never worked in games before. One producer, for example, came from a non‑gaming background.
"Our young talent is incredibly smart and effective—often more so than I was at that age," Webster enthuses. He observes that senior developers sometimes prefer working alongside peers who need less mentorship, but nurturing junior staff creates a more dynamic and motivated environment. This insight has reshaped Fuse’s hiring strategy toward cultivating emerging talent. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to further develop young creators, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue.
He cites Criterion’s successful intern pipelines as a model and stresses that such programs require a clear understanding of the costs involved in talent development. Reflecting on the industry’s past fixation on the myth of the lone creative visionary, Webster calls it "bullshit." He argues that great games are the product of collaborative effort, not the vision of a single superstar. The money that once poured into star‑driven studios should instead have been allocated to strong, cohesive teams.
As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster says the launch of *Star Wars: Galactic Racer* is just the beginning. The studio remains open to new opportunities and ideas, emphasizing flexibility and adaptability as essential for independent developers in today’s market. While the exact future projects are still being mapped out, the team’s confidence, innovative design philosophy, and commitment to a balanced internal‑external development model suggest that Fuse Games is ready to keep pushing boundaries in the years to come.