'Excitement and fear' before Star Wars game release

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A Surrey studio boss said he felt excitement and "a little bit of fear" ahead of the launch of the first dedicated Star Wars racing game in more than twenty years.

Fuse Games, based in Guildford, released Star Wars: Galactic Racer on Tuesday.

Matt Webster, CEO of the independent studio, said launching the game - its debut - felt great but that it was an "interesting one emotionally".

"You've got anticipation, excitement, apprehension and a little bit of fear," he said.

"We're conditioned to see what's wrong with it as opposed to all the wonderful things that are obviously right with it."

'Hollywood of gaming'

Webster said that Guildford had been a "pretty influential place to make video games for close to 40 years".

The commuter town - previously dubbed the "Hollywood of gaming" - is home to dozens of games studios and publishers, such as Electronic Arts, Epic, Sledgehammer and Supermassive.

"People just don't realise it," he added. "Guildford is an incredible place to draw on talent."

Webster, who previously helped develop classic racing titles such as Burnout and Need for Speed, described his studio's latest game as a "high-stakes reinvention of racing".

"It's super high speed and \[there is\] consequential decision-making at every turn," he said.

He told the BBC that the game, developed by around 75 people since 2023, centred around the end of the Empire - "if you know your Star Wars".

"You've got a story and a character to play as well," Webster continued.

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