We return to Jakku in the Star Wars: Galactic Racer trailer - exclusive interview
Dec 12, 2025
A new epic Star Wars racing game has been announced at the 2025 Game Awards, and we've got all the info you need from Fuse and Lucasfilm Games.
You can almost feel the sun of Jakku burning your face as you turn the bend, making your way between the downed Star Destroyer and the remains of the AT-AT in the Graveyard of Giants.
The iconic location from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, popular in recent years with scavengers like Rey, has been transformed into an unauthorized racing track for the new video game Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which was just announced tonight at the 2025 Game Awards.
Along with the release of the exciting first trailer, which you can watch below, Fuse Games co-founder Matt Webster and Lucasfilm Games VP and General Manager Douglas Reilly sat down with StarWars.com to discuss the trailer in detail, including a nod to Sebulba, and take a closer look at the new characters, locations and vehicles coming to the game.
DNA Racing
Racing has been part of the Star Wars DNA from the very beginning. This beloved hobby and inspiration for creator George Lucas became the centerpiece of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, leading to the creation of the fan-favorite classic game Star Wars: Episode I: Racer. “When a team with such amazing racing skills as Fuse came up with a new expression of racing in a galaxy far, far away, the decision was made without hesitation,” says Reilly. “One of the great things about Star Wars is that it's perfect for so many genres and audiences.We're always looking for new and creative ways to reimagine genres that fans have loved in the past and find unique expressions in the future."
Webster and the other members of the game studio are not new to Lucasfilm. “Lucasfilm Games has had a long and successful relationship with many of Fuse Games' key executives from their time at Criterion, including their work on the Starfighter mode in Star Wars Battlefront II,” notes Reilly. “In addition to doing great work on our projects, they are industry leaders in some of the most beloved racing franchises, Need for Speed and Burnout. I can't think of another studio better suited to bring Star Wars racing back to our fans."
What is Star Wars: Galactic Racer about?
In the first trailer, we're introduced to a new character named Shade—"a lone racer with dreams of glory and revenge," as Webster hints—as he descends the ramp to join the paddock on Jakku. Look closely and you might even see a flock of Steelbeaks scanning the area! “Players will learn more about Shade as they progress through the game's campaign. Your goal is to survive long enough to earn a chance to become an elite racer,” says Webster. “Our races are high-stakes competition where racers do whatever it takes to come out on top in the single-player campaign and our amazing multiplayer gameplay.”
Race through the Star Destroyer graveyard on Jakku.
The Skim Speeder demonstrates its capabilities on Ando Prime.
The high-speed teaser shows racers in all types of land and motorcycle speeders racing through locations such as Jakku and Ando Prime.Regarding the latter, Webster notes: “This is the backdrop for the all-new skim speeder, demonstrating its unique performance by cutting through the racing column. This stunning image of a skim speeder highlights different racing lines and performance characteristics in one frame. Skim speeders are vehicles that reward smooth lines and maintaining momentum, cornering and sliding through tight gaps. We're very excited to bring this new creation to life and look forward to sharing more details about this new vehicle and other game details in future updates!
This newest version of the galactic race will be different from its predecessors and other games in this genre. “We took inspiration from race-based games, so the player will make important and meaningful decisions about how they will choose their path to become an elite racer - from choosing the vehicle they will start with, to choosing the upgrades they will make to create a build that truly suits their playstyle, and choosing the events that will determine their path to becoming League Champion,” says Webster. “As the game progresses, you'll compete against rivals, travel to new planets, and master different classes of repulsorcraft—or speeders—each with their own unique abilities.
Shade pursues the leaders on Ando Prime.
“In the game, players can discover a range of repulsor racing vehicles, each with unique handling characteristics that must be mastered,” continues Webster. “For example, speeder bikes are fast and aggressive, you have to brake hard in corners, lean hard, and then accelerate hard out of the corner.Also note that in many of our events, different classes of speeder bikes race simultaneously, leading to exciting physical interactions when these different racing lines converge."
Sebulba and Sentinel One
Star Wars: Galactic Racer is filled with new characters and locations, such as Sentinel One, first shown in the trailer. “There is a Skakoan listening station here, built on a massive scale with huge antennas scattered across the landscape,” Webster reveals. “It is also a toxic wasteland, plundered for minerals, with bright yellow rivers of acid crisscrossing the dark, rocky terrain. These hazards create unique racing tactics for players, as toxic fumes will interfere with your engines."
In addition to Jakku, the trailer promises to reunite fans with the dastardly Doug who tried to cheat Anakin Skywalker's Cebulba into winning the Boonta Eve Classic title. “Sebulb is very well-liked among the team and throughout the Star Wars community,” says Webster. “There are specific reasons why he appeared in our trailer, as well as a detail in this shot that may raise even more questions... we'll leave the answers for another time!”
Cesko, Sebulba. We'll be counting down the days until our next match when Star Wars: Galactic Racer releases.
