The upcoming sci-fi racing game Star Wars: Galactic Racer not only comes from a new developer, Fuse Games, but also a new publisher, Secret Mode. Developed by a team of ex-Burnout developers—that are essentially making Burnout with a gorgeous Star Wars skin—the game is being published by relatively new company Secret Mode.
Founded in 2020, Secret Mode was originally an indie publishing label under Sumo Group, but the label became a fully independent games publisher in 2025. Since then, the label has grown, and Star Wars: Galactic Racer is the publisher’s biggest game yet.
Set to be released later this year for PC, Xbox and PlayStation 5, Star Wars: Galactic Racer is designed to showcase “the sense of speed” fans felt when watching the pod-racing scene in The Phantom Menace, albeit across a number of different vehicle types. More importantly, the game also features the return of Sebulba and Ben Quadinaros!
But why is Secret Mode publishing Star Wars: Galactic Racer? Well, despite boasting the license of one of the biggest franchises to ever exist, the arcade racing game is still focusing on an underexpolited niche. In an interview with GamesIndustry, chief publishing officer James Schall explains that the publisher is hyper-focused on serving under-represented types of games, even if they’re using a major IP.
“The reason niche is interesting is because there’s not a lot of competition,” they said. “There are so many games being released every hour of every day across so many different platforms that it’s very difficult to get noticed.You caan spend a huge amount of money and still not sell any games.”
For Star Wars: Galactic Racer, that’s the Burnout style of arcade racing. Despite there being a new Forza game almost every year, the last official new Burnout console release was 2008’s Burnout Paradise, and no racing game has ever come close to the style of racing that Criterion’s old series used to have.
Schall explains that signing the Star Wars game was an easy decision, as the racing genre is stacked with simulation games, but no decently-budgeted arcade racers. “And that’s because in the past, we had these behemoths of Forza, of Gran Turismo. But actually, those audiences were voracious for new experiences. Just because someone plays Forza doesn’t mean they’re never going to touch another racing game,” he said.
There’s currently no concrete release date for Star Wars: Galactic Racer, but Fuse Games’ racer appears to be shaping up very nicely. Also, did we mention, Ben Goddamn Quadinaros is back, baby!
