In a long, new interview with The Game Business, CEO and co-founder of Fuse Games Matt Webster has shared a few new details such as character customisation for Star Wars Galactic Racer. The man in charge of this studio and upcoming Star Wars game talked at length about how they arrived at making a game like this. Plus, he gave us an interesting insight into what it’s like to work with Lucasfilm Games on such a project.
Matt candidly told the publication that they’ve had some significant challenges since starting Fuse Games in the past three years and it costs a lot to make a Star Wars game.
“Yeah, it’s expensive and we didn’t make it easy for ourselves because whilst we are showing pod racing, you’ll see from the reveal, we wanted to be different to tell that story of the the Galactic League and the vehicles you’re racing go beyond pod racing.”
Now the team are closing in on releasing their very first game together. It’s an exciting time. It is also hard to believe an independent studio is releasing a AAA Star Wars game very soon. This is the beginning of the future of Star Wars games.
How Star Wars Galactic Racer Came To Be
Something deeply interesting is how Lucasfilm Games operates with different game publishers and developers. Some people have questioned how a new independent studio can quickly get a Star Wars game off the ground and approved by Lucasfilm despite never releasing a game. The truth is that Fuse Game’s team is that extremely experienced. Not just in making some beloved titles but also working on Star Wars games with Lucasfilm.
When asked how their relationship came about, Matt said they built up connections with Lucasfilm as far back as Star Wars Battlefront’s Endor Speeder Bike tutorial/mission which was many people’s first introduction to this modern era of Star Wars gaming back in 2015.
“I think it was pitched to me as the impossible mission which was to deliver on that Star Wars fantasy of racing a speeder bike at super high speed through a forest. We did a really great job with that and that then led us into Star Wars Battlefront: Rogue One: X-Wing VR Mission.
We loved doing that and that was a that was a real eye opener for us in the studio at the time because it was the game that delivered some significantly emotional reactions out of players because you immersed in Star Wars and for many people it was delivering that X-wing pilot fantasy. And then we did then we ended up doing Starfighter Assault, which I think is one of the best combat space combat games that was a mode in in another game in Star Wars Battlefront II, which was huge.”
Due to this, Lucasfilm Games trusted this group on yet another Star Wars Project. Webster reveals that Lucasfilm Games has been there since week three of Fuse’s existence. So right from the get-go they were on board.
Working With Lucasfilm
In terms of what it’s like to work for Lucasfilm, he said it’s a real privilege. Yes, they give notes on the Star Wars details but they also allow them to play with Star Wars and that they are also game makers at Lucasfilm Games. It’s not simply a licensing department but rather a creative partnership according to Webster. Curiously, the CEO mentioned Lucasfilm have been a huge supporter in a way they’ve not worked in before when it comes to Star Wars games.
In the early days of this project development, the game they pitched to Lucasfilm was different. It has since been tweaked and as he puts it “steered in particular directions to reflect the opportunity” they saw. Now we’ve gotten Star Wars Galactic Racer
“We have great relationships with the folks at Lucasfilm. And so we had a bunch of
different ideas but for what could be our first game and this one really, really resonated as an opportunity for us, a shared one both at Lucasfilm and with a desire for something that we felt like we could breathe some fresh, contemporary life into an experience that folks haven’t had for a number of years.”
What Star Wars Will Be In This Game?
There’s also going to be a lot of different Star Wars found in this game. Being set post Return of the Jedi allows for access to all different eras. Matt says they “reached into the into the Star Wars archives” whilst also creating “a lot of new”. The new stuff has needed a lot of collaboration and iteration between Fuse and Lucasfilm.
“We learned that, when we when we were making Battlefront 2 actually, is that certainly many people now particularly a younger generation who their first touch points might have been Episode One, might have been the Clone Wars. Lots of love for the broader Star Wars stories that are told. You can’t just lean on the the the one area that you know very well. There’s lots of stories to tell in lots of different eras.”
Star Wars Galactic Racer Character Customisation
Ever since the team revealed you would playing as Shade, a canonical new character, fans were immensely disappointed. Even though the team did not state there would be no customisation, lots of people assumed there would be absolutely zero. That is thankfully not the case. In this interview, Matt does share some of the customisation options that will be available:
“The player can customize aspects of that character in terms of voice, how they show up and what they wear, but in terms of the core character and his backstory that’s there for you to inhabit.”
Star Wars Galactic Racer is speedily ascending as one of the most anticipated games of the year. Be sure to check out the full interview with Matt here. (Note: some transcribed quotes above were edited for brevity and clarity.)
As for other recent Star Wars Galactic Racer news, the minimum and recommended requirements were announced last week. You can check them out here.
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