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 nearly twenty years developing titles for the Burnout and Need for Speed franchises under Criterion, the studio 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 an independent UK studio called Fuse Games. Just three and a half years later the fledgling company is poised to release its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which will be published by the newly autonomous label Secret Mode.
Galactic Racer arrives roughly 24 years after the last Star Wars‑themed racing game, 2002’s Racer Revenge, and it does so at a moment when the racing genre has generally lost some of its mainstream momentum. Amazon recently cancelled a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for the upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis explaining that the market simply didn’t seem to accommodate that kind of game.
Meanwhile Criterion, once a powerhouse of arcade‑style racing, has pivoted away from the genre to focus on the Battlefield franchise. Despite these signals, Webster is convinced there is still a viable audience for a Star Wars racing experience. “We clearly believe there’s a market for a Star Wars‑based racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “We’re not the only ones thinking that, and the response we get from people watching our videos and reading our articles suggests we’re not alone.” He points out that gaming trends are cyclical.
“Genres rise and fall. After a period when shooters dominated, other styles start to resurface.
As more people play video games, even the tiniest niches can find a larger fan base.” According to Webster, modern players crave "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences that they haven’t seen before," and he feels Galactic Racer delivers exactly that. The studio’s vision is to create something fresh, blending the instant gratification of classic arcade racers with imaginative, physics‑defying tracks that would be impossible in real‑world racing. “Imagine a course that climbs up the side of an active volcano or twists like a roller‑coaster,” he explains.
“We wanted to explore what’s possible once you’re no longer bound by tyres and tarmac.” Beyond the spectacle, Galactic Racer deliberately challenges long‑standing conventions of the racing genre. For decades, most racing games have been built around a car‑collection model, a formula that has changed little in twenty years.
Webster wants to tear that up and borrow mechanics from other genres. The game introduces meaningful consequences for player actions, such as crashing.
While many modern racers offer a rewind button that erases mistakes, Galactic Racer re‑introduces risk: too many crashes send you back to the start, though you retain some meta‑progression that makes you slightly stronger on subsequent attempts. This creates a tension between reckless speed and strategic caution. The design philosophy draws heavily from roguelike titles like Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire, which prioritize infinite replayability and procedural variety. "Racing thrives on replayability," Webster notes, "so marrying it with roguelike principles feels like a perfect match." Each run can feel fresh, encouraging players to experiment with different ships, upgrades and shortcuts while learning from each failure.
Webster acknowledges that this approach is a bold departure from the hand‑holding typical of many AAA releases, especially as the industry prepares for blockbuster launches such as GTA 6. Galactic Racer is scheduled for release on October 6, comfortably before GTA 6’s November 19 launch but still within a busy autumn window that includes titles like Control Resonant and Silent Hill: Townfall (both slated for September 24). He notes that crowded release calendars are nothing new; “Back in the day we called it ‘Murderers’ Row’ when October was packed with games.” Fuse Games remains confident yet realistic, trusting that good games will ultimately find their audience. Reflecting on the wave of layoffs sweeping the industry, Webster emphasizes a timeless truth: great teams produce great games, and great games attract players.
He observes a current aversion to risk among larger publishers, which he believes opens opportunities for studios willing to take calculated bets. However, securing funding for an independent studio in 2023 has been challenging.
After three decades at EA, Webster found himself stepping out of a comfortable bubble into a landscape where investors questioned the viability of a new indie studio. To navigate these constraints, Fuse Games adopted a lean core‑team model. The studio comprises roughly 75 full‑time staff, deliberately kept small to avoid the typical “grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink” cycle that plagues many developers.
Instead, Fuse relies on external partners for additional capacity, ranging from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to deep co‑development relationships where external studios participate in daily stand‑ups, Slack channels and even 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 subcontractors.
This hybrid model, he argues, allows a AAA‑scale game to be built on a sustainable budget. The rapid development timeline—starting Fuse in January 2023 and delivering a polished UE5‑based title in just three and a half years—demonstrates the efficacy of this approach.
"We built a studio, a team, and a game on technology none of us had mastered before, and we did it healthily and sustainably," he says. Fuse Games also benefits from a fresh infusion of young talent. Several producers on Galactic Racer had never worked in the industry before joining the project.
Webster praises the energy and adaptability of these newcomers, claiming they often outperform more seasoned veterans. He believes nurturing junior developers creates a virtuous cycle: it motivates the young staff while also challenging senior colleagues to grow. The studio plans to formalize an internship program in the future, though he cautions that they are still pre‑revenue and must balance ambition with financial reality.
Looking back to a period five or six years ago when the industry was flush with capital, Webster recalls how many successful developers were given funding to start their own studios, only to discover that building a company is far harder than creating a hit game. He criticizes the lingering industry fetish for the "single creative visionary"—a notion he calls "bullshit." In reality, games are collaborative endeavors, and success stems from the collective effort of many individuals. As for what lies ahead, Fuse Games remains open‑minded.
While the launch of Galactic Racer marks a major milestone, the studio is already considering its next steps. "We’ll be talking to partners about potential opportunities and we have ideas for future projects," Webster says, adding that flexibility and adaptability are essential for independent developers in today’s market.
In summary, Matt Webster believes that as the gaming audience expands, even the most niche concepts can flourish. By blending arcade thrills with roguelike depth, leveraging a small but agile core team complemented by trusted external partners, and investing in the next generation of developers, Fuse Games aims to prove that a well‑crafted Star Wars racing game can still capture the imagination of players worldwide.