“As gaming expands, even the smallest niches attract larger audiences” – Why Matt Webster believes Star Wars: Galactic Racer will resonate

Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay inside Electronic Arts. He started at EA in 1990 and spent almost twenty years at Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed that EA acquired in 2004.

In early 2023, however, Webster teamed up with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant to launch a new independent venture in the United Kingdom – Fuse Games. Three and a half years later the fledgling studio is on the verge of releasing its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, under the banner of the newly autonomous publisher Secret Mode. The timing of Galactic Racer’s arrival 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 maintain mainstream appeal. Amazon recently cancelled a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for a forthcoming driving title called Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis explaining that the market simply didn’t have room for another racer. Criterion itself has shifted its focus away from cars toward the Battlefield franchise.

Yet Webster remains convinced that a demand still exists. “We clearly believe there’s an audience for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz.

“We’re not the only ones thinking that, and the response we get from our videos and articles suggests we’re not alone.” Webster points out that gaming trends are cyclical. After a period dominated by shooters, other genres inevitably resurface. “As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger audience,” he explains. Players, he says, 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 tyres and tarmac?” The answer, according to Webster, is tracks that climb the side of an active volcano, courses that feel like roller‑coasters, and other over‑the‑top moments that would be impossible in a realistic simulation. Beyond the high‑octane thrills, Galactic Racer deliberately subverts long‑standing racing conventions.

Most racing games have relied on a static car‑collection model for the past two decades. Webster wants to tear that formula apart and borrow mechanics from other genres.

The game incorporates meaningful consequences for player actions – a rarity in modern racers that often feature a rewind button to erase mistakes. In Galactic Racer, crashing can send you back to the start of a run, though you retain a portion of your meta‑progress, placing you in a more powerful position for the next attempt. This risk‑reward loop forces players to weigh each maneuver carefully, especially when they’re down to their final “life” and the stakes feel palpable.

The design philosophy draws heavily from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire, which emphasize infinite replayability. "Racing thrives on replayability," Webster notes, "so marrying it with roguelike structures feels like a match made in heaven." By making each run a fresh challenge with persistent upgrades, the game encourages players to keep coming back, learning from each failure, and gradually mastering the chaotic tracks.

Launching the game on October 6 places it in a crowded release window, sandwiched between blockbuster titles like Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall (both out on September 24) and the highly anticipated GTA 6 slated for November 19. Webster acknowledges the competition but reminds us that the industry has weathered even busier pre‑Christmas schedules in the past.

“Someone once said September looks busy, but I remember the ‘murderers’ row’ era where October was packed with releases,” he says. Fuse Games approaches the market with “a healthy sense of confidence,” tempered by a realistic view of how the title might perform. Webster also reflects on the broader industry climate, especially the wave of layoffs that has swept through major studios.

Having lived through a similar downsizing period fifteen years ago, he believes that strong teams produce great games, and great games eventually find their audience. He argues that the current aversion to risk limits opportunities for innovative projects, but for those willing to take calculated bets, the environment can be fertile ground. Funding an independent studio in 2023 has not been easy.

“People told me, ‘you’re brave starting an indie studio now,’” Webster recalls. After 32 years at EA, he found himself navigating a new reality. His guiding principles remained the same: assemble a talented team, hone a clear creative vision, and maintain disciplined planning – even though any plan will inevitably evolve.

He stresses the importance of engaging and motivating talent, noting that a motivated crew can achieve extraordinary results. Fuse Games operates with a relatively small core team of about 75 people, a deliberate choice to avoid the typical “grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink” cycle that plagues many AAA projects.

Instead, the studio relies on external partners to fill skill gaps, ranging from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full co‑development arrangements where external 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 partner studios are eager to collaborate on diverse projects rather than clinging to their own isolated pipelines. This hybrid model, Webster believes, demonstrates that a AAA‑scale game can be built on a sustainable budget without the massive, ever‑fluctuating staff counts of traditional publishers.

The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer – from Fuse’s founding in January 2023 to a launch in just over three years – showcases the efficacy of this approach. "We built a studio, a team, and a game on an engine none of us had mastered before, and we did it in a healthy, sustainable way," he says. A notable aspect of Fuse’s culture is its blend of veteran expertise and fresh talent.

While the studio includes several Criterion veterans, many of its developers are newcomers to the industry. One producer, for example, had never worked on a game before joining the project. Webster praises the younger cohort, stating that they often surpass senior colleagues in creativity and efficiency. He argues that nurturing young talent is more beneficial than relying solely on seasoned developers who may prefer minimal interaction.

The studio plans to launch an intern program in the future, though it remains pre‑revenue and cautious about the costs associated with talent development. Looking back to a period five or six years ago when the industry enjoyed abundant funding, Webster recalls how many successful developers were given the chance to start their own studios, only to discover the challenges were greater than expected.

He criticizes the industry’s lingering fixation on the myth of a singular creative visionary, calling it “bullshit.” In his view, games are always collaborative efforts, and success stems from strong teams rather than lone geniuses. As for what lies ahead for Fuse Games, the roadmap is still taking shape.

The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and the studio remains open to exploring new opportunities and partnerships. Webster emphasizes the need for flexibility and adaptability in today’s independent development landscape, concluding with optimism: "Good games will find a way, and we’re hoping ours does too."