Matt Webster Believes Star Wars: Galactic Racer Will Capture a Growing Gaming Audience

Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He arrived at EA in 1990 and spent almost twenty years contributing to the legendary Burnout and Need for Speed franchises through 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 Fuse Games, an independent studio based in the United Kingdom. Just over three years later the fledgling team is poised to ship its debut title, *Star Wars: Galactic Racer*, under the banner of the newly independent publisher Secret Mode.

The timing of the release is noteworthy. The last Star Wars‑themed racing game, *Racer Revenge*, hit shelves in 2002, a full 24 years ago.

Since then, the broader racing genre has struggled to retain mainstream appeal. Amazon recently scrapped a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title *Clutch*, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis explaining that the market simply didn’t seem to need another racer.

Meanwhile, Criterion itself has pivoted away from pure racing projects and is now focused on the *Battlefield* franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced that a market exists for a Star Wars racing experience.

“We clearly see an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “Our community feedback and the interest we see online tell us we’re not alone in that belief.” He points out that gaming trends are cyclical. While shooters dominated the past few years, other genres inevitably resurface as the player base expands.

“As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches find larger audiences,” he added. Webster believes gamers are hungry for fresh, compelling experiences that feel new.

He argues that *Galactic Racer* delivers exactly that by blending classic arcade thrills with imaginative, physics‑defying tracks. “We wanted an instant‑gratification arcade feel, but also to explore what’s possible when you’re not limited by real‑world tyres and tarmac,” he explained.

One of the game’s signature courses, for instance, spirals up the side of an active volcano, turning a race into a roller‑coaster‑like spectacle. Beyond spectacle, the game seeks to overturn long‑standing racing conventions. Traditionally, racing titles have relied on a car‑collection model that has changed little in two decades. Webster wants to “rip that up” and borrow mechanics from other genres.

The result is a system where player choices have weight, especially when crashes occur. In many modern racers, a rewind button erases consequences, but *Galactic Racer* re‑introduces risk: too many crashes send you back to the start, though you retain some meta‑progression that makes subsequent attempts slightly stronger. This risk‑reward loop, he says, mirrors the tension found in roguelike games such as *Hades*, *Returnal*, and *Slay the Spire*, which are built around infinite replayability.

“Racing thrives on replayability, so combining it with roguelike principles feels like a match made in heaven,” Webster noted. The game’s design philosophy also reflects a broader shift away from the “hand‑holding” that has become common in AAA titles. Webster acknowledges the crowded release calendar of 2024, with heavyweight launches like *GTA VI* slated for November 19.

*Galactic Racer* is set for October 6, comfortably sandwiched between other major releases such as *Control: Resonance* and *Silent Hill: Townfall* on September 24. While some industry observers worry that September is too busy, Webster recalls past years when October was considered the “murderer’s row” of releases. He believes Fuse Games can stand out by maintaining a “healthy sense of confidence” tempered with realistic expectations.

The conversation inevitably turned to the current wave of layoffs across the sector. Having lived through a similar contraction fifteen years ago, Webster sees a pattern: great teams make great games, and great games find audiences. He argues that the industry’s risk‑averse climate actually creates opportunities for studios willing to take calculated bets.

“If you’re not willing to risk, you limit yourself,” he said. “Those who push forward can capture the space left by more cautious developers.” Funding, however, remains a hurdle for new independent studios. When Webster launched Fuse in 2023, many questioned the wisdom of starting a studio in a tight financing environment.

“People said, ‘You’re brave doing an indie studio in 2023,’” he recalled. After 32 years at EA, he had to relearn how to build a company from scratch.

His guiding principles became clear: assemble a passionate team, crystallize a creative vision, and develop a disciplined yet adaptable plan. He stresses that plans are always imperfect, but they provide a starting point that can be iterated upon. Fuse’s staffing model reflects this philosophy. Rather than expanding to a massive AAA‑size workforce, the studio has kept its core team to roughly 75 people.

This deliberate size avoids the typical “grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink” cycle that plagues many large developers. Instead, Fuse supplements its core with external partners, ranging from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to deep co‑development relationships where outside studios join daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and even the codebase. Webster highlights 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 their lights on. According to Webster, this hybrid model enables a AAA‑level scope, visual fidelity, and production timeline while staying on a sustainable budget.

The rapid development of *Galactic Racer*—from Fuse’s founding in January 2023 to a launch in just over three and a half years—demonstrates the efficacy of this approach. The team learned Unreal Engine 5 on the fly, built a full game, and did so without compromising financial stability. A striking aspect of Fuse’s culture is its emphasis on young talent. Alongside the veteran Criterion alumni, the studio has recruited many newcomers, including a producer who had never worked in games before.

Webster praises this fresh perspective, saying the younger developers often outperform more senior hires in creativity and efficiency. He observes that seasoned developers sometimes prefer to work with peers who require minimal mentorship, which can stifle growth.

By nurturing junior staff, Fuse not only boosts morale but also cultivates a pipeline of future leaders. Webster hopes to formalize this effort with an internship program, though he acknowledges the studio is still pre‑revenue and must weigh the costs of talent development. Reflecting on the industry’s past focus on “superstar” creators, Webster dismisses the notion as “bullshit.” He argues that games are collaborative endeavors, and the myth of a single visionary can be harmful.

Funding, he believes, should be allocated to strong teams rather than individual egos. This belief underpins Fuse’s collaborative ethos and its reliance on shared values with external partners.

Looking ahead, Webster admits the future for Fuse Games is still taking shape. While the launch of *Star Wars: Galactic Racer* is just the beginning, the studio remains open to new opportunities and ideas. “As an independent developer, you have to stay flexible and adaptable,” he says.

For now, the team is focused on delivering a polished experience, proving that a modest core team bolstered by trusted collaborators can produce a AAA‑quality title, and showing the industry that even niche genres can thrive when the right audience is reached.