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

Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within the walls of Electronic Arts. He started at EA in 1990 and spent almost twenty years contributing to iconic franchises like Burnout and Need for Speed while working at Criterion, the studio EA acquired in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster and several former Criterion colleagues—Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires, and Alan McDairmant—decided to strike out on their own, founding the independent UK studio Fuse Games.

Just three and a half years later, the fledgling studio is poised to launch its debut title, *Star Wars: Galactic Racer*, under the banner of the newly independent publisher Secret Mode. The timing of *Galactic Racer* is noteworthy.

It arrives roughly 24 years after the last Star Wars‑themed racing game, 2002’s *Racer Revenge*. In the intervening decades, the racing genre has struggled to maintain a prominent spot on the market.

Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title *Clutch*, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis remarking that the project didn’t fit the current market landscape. Meanwhile, Criterion, once a powerhouse of arcade‑style racers, has pivoted to focus on the *Battlefield* franchise. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced that a demand exists for a Star Wars racing experience. "Clearly there’s an audience for a Star Wars racing game," he told GamesIndustry.biz.

"We’re not the only ones who think that, and the reaction we get from our videos and articles suggests we’re not alone." He points out that gaming trends are cyclical. While shooters dominated the past few years, other genres inevitably rise again as the player base expands. "The more people play video games, the larger even the tiniest niches become," Webster explains. He believes gamers are hungry for "fun, interesting, compelling new experiences they haven’t seen before," and he feels *Galactic Racer* delivers exactly that fresh perspective.

Fuse’s design philosophy embraces the instant gratification of classic arcade racers while also exploring what can be done when developers are no longer tethered to realistic physics. "We wanted to ask what’s possible when you’re not limited by tyres and tarmac," Webster says. The answer, according to him, includes tracks that climb the side of an active volcano and courses that feel more like roller‑coasters than traditional circuits.

These over‑the‑top environments are meant to evoke the thrill of an arcade cabinet, yet the game also strives to break conventional racing mechanics. One of the most radical departures is the treatment of car collection, a staple that has defined racing games for the past two decades.

"The structure in most racing games is car collection – that hasn’t changed for probably 20 years. So let’s rip that up and steal from other genres," Webster declares. *Galactic Racer* incorporates consequential decision‑making reminiscent of roguelike titles such as *Hades*, *Returnal*, and *Slay the Spire*. Crashing, for instance, carries weight: too many crashes reset the player to the start of a run, though some meta‑progression carries over, granting a slightly stronger position on the next attempt.

This risk‑reward loop forces players to weigh aggression against caution, especially when they’re down to their final allowed crash. The integration of roguelike principles aligns naturally with racing’s inherent replayability.

"Racing thrives on replayability," Webster notes, "and games built for infinite replay are a match made in heaven." By blending the high‑stakes, procedural nature of roguelikes with the speed‑focused excitement of arcade racing, Fuse hopes to create a hybrid that feels both familiar and groundbreaking. Releasing *Galactic Racer* on October 6 places it in a crowded autumn window, sandwiched between major releases like *Control: Resonance* and *Silent Hill: Townfall* (both September 24) and the highly anticipated *GTA 6* slated for November 19. Webster acknowledges the competitive landscape but remains confident. He recalls past industry chatter about “Murderer’s Row” in September and notes that October has historically been just as busy.

"We have a healthy sense of confidence, tempered by a realistic view of how things may turn out," he says. The conversation inevitably turns to the broader industry climate, especially the wave of layoffs that has swept through studios.

Webster, who has witnessed multiple cycles of downsizing, believes that great teams produce great games, and great games find their audiences. He argues that a prevailing aversion to risk is limiting opportunities, and that studios willing to take calculated bets can thrive. Yet he admits that securing funding for an independent studio in 2023 was a formidable challenge.

"People said, ‘you’re brave doing an independent studio in 2023,’" he recalls. After 32 years at EA, he had to relearn how to build a company from the ground up, relying on core principles: assemble a talented team, refine a clear creative vision, and maintain disciplined planning while staying adaptable. Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core of about 75 developers—a deliberate choice to avoid the industry’s typical “grow‑shrink‑grow‑shrink” cycle.

Instead, the studio leans on external partners to fill skill gaps, employing a spectrum of collaboration ranging from transactional outsourcing to full co‑development where external studios join daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and code repositories. Webster highlights the UK’s mature game‑development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such partnerships, noting a cultural shift from reluctant, siloed assistance to enthusiastic, value‑aligned collaboration. This hybrid model, he believes, demonstrates that a AAA‑scale project can be delivered on a sustainable budget when a small, permanent core team works closely with trusted external contributors. The rapid development timeline of *Galactic Racer*—starting Fuse in January 2023 and delivering a polished UE5 title in just three and a half years—serves as proof of concept.

Another notable aspect of Fuse’s approach is its emphasis on nurturing young talent. While the studio includes seasoned veterans from Criterion, many of its developers are newcomers, with at least one producer having never worked in games before. "The young talent we’ve got is smarter and more effective in many ways than I was at that age," Webster says.

He observes that seasoned developers often prefer senior colleagues who require minimal interaction, a mindset that can stifle growth. By deliberately hiring and empowering younger staff, Fuse aims to create a dynamic, motivated environment.

Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program, drawing inspiration from Criterion’s successful intern pipelines. He acknowledges that Fuse is still pre‑revenue and that developing talent carries costs, but he believes the long‑term payoff outweighs the short‑term expense. Reflecting on a period five or six years ago when the industry was flush with capital, Webster recalls how many teams received funding simply because they had delivered a hit game.

He argues that money should have been directed toward strong, cohesive teams rather than “superstar” individuals. "The fixation on a singular creative visionary is bullshit," he asserts. "Games are made by collaborations of individuals." As for Fuse’s future beyond *Galactic Racer*, Webster admits the path is still being charted.

The studio sees the launch as just the beginning and remains open to exploring new opportunities, emphasizing flexibility and adaptability as essential traits for independent developers in today’s market.