Star Wars: Galactic Racer players are driving into walls on purpose. It works. Matt Webster, co-founder of developer Fuse Games, described the trick on Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 550, which went live on October 9, 2026, three days after the game launched.
Webster joined creative director Kieran Crimmins for a chat with PlayStation’s Gillen McAllister and his co-host Jim, and the pair also went deep on the Hail Mary part, the betting system in multiplayer leagues and the top speed of a fully upgraded podracer.
Why Crashing Makes You Faster in Star Wars: Galactic Racer
It starts with status effects. Collide with a rival, clip the scenery or race through harsh weather, and the game can tag your vehicle with a status. System malfunction is one of them. Someone hits you, your systems glitch out and your craft is left vulnerable.
A handful of parts only switch on during a malfunction. Webster’s example was a part that makes your afterburner 50% more powerful while the malfunction lasts, and players worked out pretty quickly that they could trigger it themselves.
“So this person was hitting the wall to go faster,” Webster said. He told the hosts he had never seen anything like it in a racing game and credited the way the team’s parts combine, pushing players toward habits other racers would punish.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Equip a malfunction part | Example: a part that boosts your afterburner during a system malfunction |
| Hit a wall or a rival | Your vehicle enters the system malfunction status |
| Fire the afterburner | In Webster’s example, it is 50% more powerful while malfunctioning |
| The catch | Your vehicle stays vulnerable until the malfunction ends |
Over 300 Parts Add Up to “Trillions” of Builds
Galactic Racer ships with more than 300 parts. Stack those with abilities, racing styles and favors, and the number of possible vehicle builds gets silly. Webster admitted the studio hasn’t seen every combination.
Crimmins went further. “There’s trillions. We literally can’t see them all.”
The Hail Mary Part Turns Overheating Into a Gamble
Your ramjet is the fastest tool you have, and it runs hot. Hold the boost long enough and the gauge hits the red line. Stay there and the craft blows up.
Hail Mary gives you a chance to survive. Webster said some of his favorite multiplayer moments came from leaning on it, holding the button way past the safe point and praying the part kicks in. When it fails, his race is over. When it holds, he said he feels amazing.
Where you race changes the odds. Desert planets push the ramjet toward overheating faster, while on frozen worlds you can keep it burning longer at the cost of handling, since the extreme cold makes vehicles harder to control.
How Galactic Racer Multiplayer Keeps Losing Players in the League
In most tournament formats, one bad early race is enough to make people leave the lobby. Crimmins said Fuse flipped that around. Every race before the final is a build phase where you chase parts and upgrades, and only the last race decides the winner.
A full league runs about 25 to 40 minutes. Webster walked through the gambling layer that sits on top. During the build phase you predict where you’ll finish, and a better call earns better rewards. You can also mark other players as rivals so you can follow them during races. Then, before the final showdown, everyone bets on a winner. That includes deciding how hard to back yourself.
One of the hosts found a sneaky use for this. He was losing badly, so he marked the likely winner as his rival and spent the final race protecting him.
Short on time? Quick Races drop you into a single event with a fixed build, for speeders or podracers.
Podracers Are Three to Four Times Faster Than Everything Else
Podracers mostly get their own tracks and conditions. They’re far more fragile than the speeders, and once fully upgraded they run roughly three to four times quicker than anything else in the game, according to the developers.
The story explains why they’re rare. League founder Darius Pax says in the prologue that podracing may be the ultimate form of racing, but almost nobody in the galaxy can fly one. Fuse has also talked about why it skipped a straight Episode 1: Racer remake.
Star Wars: Galactic Racer Game Modes Explained
Crimmins said each of the four modes fits a different mood, and a different amount of free time.
| Mode | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Campaign | Shade’s full story through the Galactic League, plus the core runs-based build system |
| Scenarios | Character-based challenges with a narrower set of parts and abilities for extreme builds |
| Arcade | Fixed builds and time trials you can compare with friends |
| Multiplayer | League mode (about 25 to 40 minutes) plus Quick Races for speeders and podracers |
Is Star Wars: Galactic Racer Out Now?
Yes. It launched on October 6, 2026, for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store. Fuse Games, a studio founded by former Criterion developers who worked on Burnout and Need for Speed, built it with Lucasfilm Games, and Secret Mode publishes it.
You play as Shade, a newcomer to the Galactic League. It’s an unsanctioned Outer Rim circuit that sprang up after the Empire fell, and Kestar Bool currently runs it with plenty of dirty tricks. The State of Play gameplay trailer shows a few of the tracks.
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FAQ
Why do players crash on purpose in Star Wars: Galactic Racer?
Getting hit puts your vehicle into a system malfunction. Some parts reward that state, like one that makes your afterburner 50% stronger, so players hit walls deliberately to switch the bonus on.
What does the Hail Mary part do?
It gives your craft a chance to survive when the ramjet sits in the red line too long. Without it, you explode.
How many parts are in Star Wars: Galactic Racer?
Over 300. Combined with abilities, racing styles and favors, Fuse Games says there are trillions of possible builds.
How fast are podracers in Galactic Racer?
Roughly three to four times faster than every other vehicle once fully upgraded.
How long is a multiplayer league in Galactic Racer?
About 25 to 40 minutes. Every race before the final showdown counts as a build phase.
