Star Wars: Galactic Racer is the debut title by Fuse Games, an independent studio based in Guildford, founded by former Criterion Games staff who worked on Burnout and Need for Speed. Since 2023, the team has been working on Star Wars: Galactic Racer, the first Star Wars racing game since 2002’s Racer Revenge. For an independent studio, landing an IP as seismic as Star Wars as their debut project must be a dream come true. However, the team is no stranger to Lucasfilm’s space saga. At Criterion, the team supported DICE, developing the vehicle sections for EA’s Battlefront shooter series. This experience helped forge links between Fuse and Lucasfilm. “We thought, we share a love of racing and Star Wars – why has there not been a Star Wars racing game in so long?” CEO Matt Webster explained to Traxion. “Fortunately, we spent some time working on Star Wars games in the past, so we have relationships there and we can ask those sorts of questions. Which leads us to where we are now.” “It’s quite a privilege being able to ring up Lucasfilm and be like, hey, we think this is a cool thing,” Creative Director Kieran Crimmins added. “One, they’ll pick up the call, and they’ll take us seriously because of the pedigree.” “From their point of view, you’re looking to partner up with people who know what they’re doing in a particular genre. So, folks who know what they’re doing inside racing taking on a Star Wars racing game is very attractive,” said Webster. Before joining Fuse, Crimmins was the creative director of Need for Speed Unbound at Criterion, and worked on numerous games in the franchise, including Hot Pursuit and the 2012 Most Wanted game. Webster, meanwhile, started working with Criterion as an Executive Producer for