Matt Webster’s career once seemed destined to stay within Electronic Arts’ walls. He started at EA in 1990 and spent almost twenty years developing titles for the Criterion team, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed, which EA acquired in 2004. In early 2023, however, Webster joined forces with former Criterion colleagues Steve Uphill, Pete Lake, Andrei Shires and Alan McDairmant to launch the independent UK studio Fuse Games.
Just over three years later, the fledgling studio is poised to release its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, under the banner of the newly independent 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—more than two decades ago. Since then, the broader racing genre has struggled to maintain mainstream appeal.
Amazon recently walked away from a publishing agreement with Maverick Games for its upcoming driving title Clutch, with Amazon Games head Jeff Gattis noting that the market simply didn’t seem to need another racer. Meanwhile, Criterion, once a powerhouse of arcade‑style racing, has pivoted to the Battlefield franchise, signaling a shift in industry priorities. Despite these signals, Webster remains convinced there is a viable audience for a Star Wars racing experience.
“We clearly see demand for a Star Wars racing game,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “Our community feedback, video views, and article reads suggest we’re not alone in that belief.” He points out that gaming trends are cyclical: genres rise, fall, and often return in new forms. “Shooters dominated for a while, but they’re not the only genre that can capture players’ attention. As the player base expands, even the smallest niches can find a larger following.” Webster believes gamers 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 racing while also exploring possibilities that go beyond the constraints of real‑world tyres and tarmac. “Imagine a track that climbs the side of an active volcano or a course that feels like a roller‑coaster,” he explains. These over‑the‑top environments aim to provide the thrill of arcade play while still feeling fresh within the Star Wars universe. Beyond visual spectacle, the game seeks to overturn long‑standing racing conventions.
Traditionally, racing titles have centered on car collection—a formula unchanged for roughly twenty years. Webster wants to rip that model apart and borrow mechanics from other genres. One of the most radical changes is the introduction of meaningful consequences for crashing.
In many modern racers, a rewind button eliminates risk, but Fuse wants crashes to matter. “If you crash too often, you’re sent back to the start, but you retain some meta‑progression that makes you slightly stronger,” he says. This risk‑reward loop forces players to weigh each maneuver carefully, especially when they’re down to their final allowed crash.
The design philosophy draws inspiration from roguelike titles such as Hades, Returnal and Slay the Spire—games built for infinite replayability. “Racing thrives on replayability, so marrying it with roguelike loops feels like a perfect match,” Webster notes.
The meta‑progression system ensures that each run feels both familiar and fresh, encouraging players to experiment with different strategies and ship configurations. Launching the game on October 6 positions it between two major releases: Rockstar’s highly anticipated GTA 6, slated for November 19, and September’s heavyweight titles Control: Resonance and Silent Hill: Townfall. While some industry observers warned that September would be a crowded month, Webster recalls earlier eras when October was dubbed “murderer’s row” because of its dense release schedule.
He acknowledges the competition but maintains a “healthy sense of confidence,” tempered by realistic expectations. “Good games find a way,” he says, echoing a mantra that has guided him through multiple industry cycles. Webster’s perspective is informed by his experience of past waves of layoffs and the industry’s shifting risk appetite. He notes that today’s environment often penalizes bold, experimental projects, yet this very conservatism creates openings for studios willing to take calculated risks.
“When you’re afraid to gamble, you miss opportunities,” he observes. “Great teams make great games, and great games find an audience.” Funding, however, has not been easy. Starting an independent studio in 2023 was met with skepticism: "People said, ‘You’re brave doing an indie studio now,’" Webster recalls. After 32 years at EA, he had to adapt to a new reality—building a team, refining a creative vision, and crafting a plan that is always provisional.
He emphasizes that a motivated, engaged team is the cornerstone of success, and that leadership’s role is to inspire and sustain that motivation. Fuse Games operates with a relatively lean core of about 75 staff, a deliberate choice to avoid the boom‑bust staffing cycles common in larger studios.
Instead, they supplement capabilities through external development partners. This model ranges from transactional outsourcing for asset creation to full co‑development arrangements where external studios join daily stand‑ups, Slack channels, and code repositories, essentially becoming extensions of the Fuse team. Webster highlights the UK’s mature development ecosystem as a fertile ground for such collaborations, noting that today’s studios are more willing to partner than in the past, when they often guarded their IP jealously.
Webster believes this hybrid approach—small permanent core plus trusted external partners—offers a sustainable path to AAA‑level scope, scale and visual fidelity without the budgetary excesses of traditional large‑team productions. The rapid development timeline of Galactic Racer illustrates the model’s effectiveness: Fuse launched in January 2023, and within three and a half years they built a studio, assembled a team, and delivered a UE5‑powered game despite initially having no experience with the engine. A notable aspect of Fuse’s culture is its embrace of young talent. Alongside the Criterion veterans, the studio has recruited many developers early in their careers, even hiring a producer with no prior game‑development background.
Webster praises this influx of fresh perspectives: “Our younger staff are often smarter and more effective than I was at their age. We’ve seen greater success with them than with some senior hires.” He argues that nurturing junior talent creates a more dynamic, motivated environment than relying solely on seasoned developers who may prefer minimal interaction.
Looking ahead, Webster hopes to formalize an internship program to further cultivate emerging talent, though he admits the studio is still pre‑revenue and must balance ambition with financial realities. He reflects on a period five or six years ago when abundant funding allowed successful developers to spin off their own studios, only to discover that building a sustainable company is far harder than it appears.
The industry’s previous fixation on the myth of a singular visionary—what he calls “fucking bullshit”—has given way to a recognition that games are collaborative creations. As for Fuse’s next steps, Webster remains intentionally vague. The launch of Galactic Racer is just the beginning, and the studio is already exploring potential follow‑up projects. However, he stresses that independence demands flexibility: “We have ideas about where we want to go, but as an indie developer you have to stay adaptable.” In summary, Matt Webster’s journey from EA veteran to indie studio founder underscores a broader shift in the gaming landscape: niche genres can now reach larger audiences, traditional development pipelines are being re‑examined, and the next generation of creators is poised to shape the future.
Star Wars: Galactic Racer aims to prove that a fresh take on racing—infused with Star Wars lore, roguelike mechanics, and bold design choices—can thrive even in a crowded market, provided the team stays true to its vision and embraces both internal talent and external partnerships.