Star Wars: Galactic Racer launches October 6 at 11:00 CEST: no early access, and Sebulba is back

Two weeks to go and everything is locked in: Star Wars: Galactic Racer unlocks on October 6 at 11:00 CEST, simultaneously on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. The times come from the PlayStation Store and SteamDB, with the usual caveat that they could still change. Anyone hoping to play a few days early by buying a pricier edition is out of luck: no edition includes early access, everyone starts together.

No surprises on price. The Standard Edition costs $59.99, the Deluxe $79.99 and adds three exclusive Kor Sarun vehicles (the Ciza T speeder bike, the Darc X landspeeder and the Rak S skim speeder), a livery inspired by the Naboo N-1 starfighter, three Arcade Events, a player banner and a digital art book. There is also a Collector's Edition, while pre-orders get an exclusive livery and a multiplayer banner.

Fuse Games is developing it in Unreal Engine 5, with Secret Mode publishing alongside Lucasfilm Games. The campaign is set in the New Republic era, after Return of the Jedi: you play as Shade, a lone racer who wants to climb the underground Galactic League and settle the score with rival Kestar Bool. Confirmed tracks range from Jakku, with the Graveyard of Giants, to the Skakoan station of Sentinel One among rivers of acid, by way of Ando Prime, Lantana and Derven Acos. Different classes race at the same time: speeder bikes that need hard braking into corners, landspeeders, skim speeders that reward clean lines and, of course, podracers.

Here comes the part that will make anyone who was around in 1999 smile. Sebulba is back, and so is Ben Quadinaros, the one whose engine dies before the race even starts. Multiplayer supports up to 12 players, apparently with a ranked mode too.

We won't hide a bit of nostalgia: the last Star Wars racing game, Racer Revenge, dates back to 2002, and the June previews were fairly positive. It remains to be seen whether Shade's story will hold up as well as the races. Will you be playing on day one? As always, we at apocanow will be ready with cheats and guides as soon as the game is out.