Ask any Star Wars gamer of a certain age about Episode I Racer and watch their eyes light up. Podracing has been dormant for over twenty years. Star Wars: Galactic Racer is here to end the drought. It launches October 6, 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
The setup
Galactic Racer is developed by Fuse Games and published by Secret Mode, and it moves the sport forward in time to the New Republic era, after the fall of the Empire. The hook: an underground, unsanctioned racing circuit called the Galactic League, where criminal syndicates sponsor pilots and the racing is as much about rivalries and reputation as raw speed.
The Summer Game Fest trailer leaned into that underworld flavor, showing off new tracks and a few very familiar faces: Sebulba and the bounty hunter Bossk among them.
What we know
- Release: October 6, 2026
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
- Editions: Standard ($59.99) and Deluxe ($79.99)
- Era: New Republic, post-Empire
- Vibe: high-speed arcade racing wrapped in a syndicate-driven campaign
Why this one could surprise people
Racing games live or die on feel. The original Episode I Racer is beloved specifically because podracers handled like barely-controlled rockets. If Fuse Games nails that sense of speed-on-a-knife-edge, the New Republic underworld setting gives it a much richer world to race through than the original ever had.
The nostalgia factor is real
There's a generation of fans for whom Episode I Racer was a formative gaming experience, and there's been nothing to scratch that itch since. Bringing podracing back at all is a statement; bringing it back with a campaign, a criminal-circuit story, and returning characters is the kind of swing that earns goodwill before a single lap is run.
We'll be racing it day one and reporting back with a full review. For now, October 6 just got a lot more interesting.