"As gaming audiences expand, even the smallest niches attract larger followings" – Why Matt Webster believes Star Wars: Galactic Racer will resonate

Matt Webster appeared destined for a lifelong career at Electronic Arts, having joined the company back in 1990 and spending almost twenty years at Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed that EA acquired in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster, together with fellow Criterion alumni 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 the fledgling studio is on the brink of releasing its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which will be published by the newly independent Secret Mode. Galactic Racer arrives roughly 24 years after the last Star Wars racing game – 2002’s Racer Revenge – and it does so at a moment when the racing genre has generally slipped out of the spotlight.

Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis noting, “we didn’t see a real fit in the market for that game.” Meanwhile, Criterion, once a racing powerhouse, has pivoted to work on the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is still demand for a Star Wars‑themed racer. “We clearly think there’s an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz.

“We’re not the only ones who feel that, and the response we get from people watching our videos and reading our articles suggests we’re not alone.” He points out that genres tend to be cyclical. “We went through a phase where shooters dominated, but that’s not the only genre that can thrive.

As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger audience.” According to Webster, players are hungry for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences they haven’t seen before," and he believes Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The studio set out to capture the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also exploring what becomes possible when you free yourself from the constraints of real‑world tyres and tarmac. "We have tracks that climb the side of an active volcano," he explains, describing the experience as “sometimes a roller‑coaster.” Beyond the high‑octane thrills, Galactic Racer aims to upend long‑standing conventions of the racing genre. Traditionally, racing games have been built around a car‑collection model that has remained largely unchanged for two decades.

Webster wants to tear that formula apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One of the most striking innovations is the emphasis on consequential decision‑making, particularly around crashes. In many modern racers, a rewind button eliminates the penalty for mistakes.

Fuse wants to bring consequence back, making each crash matter. The game’s structure draws inspiration from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire—games designed for infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability, so combining it with roguelike principles feels like a match made in heaven," Webster says.

When a player crashes too often, they are sent back to the start, but they retain a portion of meta‑progress that puts them in a stronger position for the next run. The looming threat of a final crash forces players to weigh risk versus reward, creating tension that is rarely seen in mainstream AAA racers. Webster acknowledges that this approach is a bold departure from the hand‑holding that has become common in big‑budget titles, especially as the industry prepares for the release of GTA 6.

Galactic Racer is slated for launch on October 6, comfortably ahead of GTA 6’s November 19 debut, yet still close to other major releases such as Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall, both arriving on September 24. He notes that crowded pre‑Christmas windows are nothing new.

“People used to call October ‘murderer’s row,’ and it was always packed,” he recalls, emphasizing that Fuse approaches the market with a “healthy sense of confidence” tempered by realistic expectations. When asked about the wave of layoffs sweeping the industry, Webster reflects on his long tenure and the earlier round of cuts fifteen years ago.

“Great teams make great games, and great games find an audience,” he asserts. He sees the current risk‑averse climate as an opening for studios willing to take calculated bets.

“If you’re not willing to risk, you limit opportunity,” he adds. Starting an independent studio in 2023 has not been without its challenges.

Securing funding proved difficult, with many questioning the wisdom of launching a new studio in a turbulent market. Webster describes the transition from a 32‑year career at EA, where he operated within a corporate bubble, to the uncertain world of indie development.

He leans on principles he’s learned over the years: building a strong team, refining a clear creative vision, and maintaining disciplined planning—while accepting that plans are always provisional and must be adapted. Fuse Games remains relatively lean for a project of AAA scope, employing around 75 people.

This deliberate size allows the studio to avoid the typical “grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink” cycle that plagues many larger developers. Instead, Fuse relies heavily on external partners to fill gaps, employing a hybrid model that blends transactional outsourcing with true co‑development.

In co‑development arrangements, external studios become extensions of the core team, participating in daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even sharing the codebase. Webster highlights the United Kingdom as an ideal hub for such collaboration, thanks to its mature game‑development ecosystem. He notes a cultural shift: where once studios were reluctant to assist competitors, today many companies hire talent eager to work across multiple projects, keeping their skills fresh and their motivation high.

From Fuse’s perspective, this blended model proves that a AAA‑level game—both in scope and visual fidelity—can be produced on a sustainable budget. The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer underscores this point.

"We founded Fuse in January 2023. Three and a half years later we have a studio, a team, and a game built on Unreal Engine 5—something none of us previously mastered.

It feels like an achievement, and we did it in a healthy, sustainable way," Webster says. The studio’s roster mixes veteran Criterion staff with a wave of younger developers, some of whom have never worked in games before. One producer, for instance, came from outside the industry entirely. "The young talent we’ve brought in is astonishingly smart and effective—often more so than I was at their age," Webster remarks.

He observes that seasoned developers sometimes prefer senior colleagues who need little interaction, which can stifle growth. By contrast, nurturing young talent energizes the whole team, prompting Fuse to adjust its hiring strategy accordingly. Looking ahead, Webster hopes to establish an internship program to further cultivate emerging talent, though he cautions that the studio is still pre‑revenue. He cites Criterion’s successful intern initiatives as a model and acknowledges the costs involved in developing new talent.

Reflecting on the industry’s past boom, Webster remembers a time when successful games attracted ample funding for spin‑off studios—only for many founders to discover the reality was far tougher than anticipated. He argues that money should be allocated to strong teams rather than to the myth of a singular creative visionary, calling that notion "bullshit." In his view, games are always the product of collaborative effort. As for Fuse’s next steps, the future remains fluid. "The launch is just the beginning for us," Webster says.

"We’re open to conversations about new opportunities and have ideas about where we want to go, but as an independent developer you have to stay flexible and adaptable."