On June 23, 2020, Star Wars Episode I: Racer came roaring back onto Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. And somehow, the old podracing game still knew exactly what it was doing. No overcomplicated reboot. No grim cinematic reinvention. No one standing in a dark hangar explaining that podracing was actually a metaphor for galactic trauma. Just two engines, too much speed, flaming methane lakes, Tusken Raider attacks, anti-gravity tunnels, and the eternal question: How close can you fly to a wall before your entire life becomes smoke? The Podracing Fantasy Never Really Left The original Episode I: Racer arrived in 1999, built around one of the most immediately game-friendly sequences in The Phantom Menace. Say what you want about the movie, but the podrace was basically a video game pitch hiding inside a Star Wars film. Fast machines. Dangerous tracks. Weird alien racers. Exploding engines. A tiny child making health…
Author: Matt "ObiWaN" Hansen
Star Wars in Fortnite Is No Longer Just Skins. It’s Becoming a Game Platform
For years, Star Wars in Fortnite mostly meant one thing: Someone in a very famous outfit doing something deeply unserious. Darth Vader with a gun. Ahsoka in a squad wipe. Stormtroopers building walls. Kylo Ren emoting in ways the dark side probably did not approve. It was funny. It was weird. It was marketing. But now the Star Wars and Fortnite relationship has moved into a much bigger phase. Epic has opened official Star Wars tools for creators in Fortnite Creative and Unreal Editor for Fortnite, allowing approved developers to build and publish Star Wars-themed islands using licensed characters, weapons, vehicles, templates, and branded assets. In other words, Star Wars in Fortnite is no longer just skins. It is becoming a platform. This Is Bigger Than Another Crossover The usual Star Wars crossover model is simple. Add characters. Sell cosmetics. Drop a few themed weapons. Let social media do the…
Star Wars Eclipse Is Still the Galaxy’s Most Beautiful Question Mark
Remember Star Wars Eclipse? Of course you do. It is hard to forget a trailer that looked like someone poured the High Republic, ominous drums, space opera, political dread, alien ritual energy, and extremely expensive lighting into a blender and hit “cinematic mystery.” The reveal trailer arrived back in 2021, and for a brief moment, Star Wars Eclipse looked like it might become the next huge Star Wars gaming obsession. Then came the waiting. And more waiting. And the special kind of waiting where fans start checking whether a game is still alive like they are monitoring a suspicious bacta tank. As of now, Star Wars Eclipse remains one of the strangest things in modern Star Wars gaming: visually unforgettable, officially announced, still mysterious, and somehow more famous for what we have not seen than what we have. The Trailer Did Its Job Too Well The problem with the Star…
Battlefront’s Bespin DLC Gave Star Wars Fans the Cloud City Fantasy EA Later Walked Away From
On June 21, 2016, Star Wars Battlefront took players to Bespin. Not “mentioned Bespin.” Not “used Bespin as a loading screen.” Actually took players there. The Bespin DLC for EA and DICE’s 2015 Star Wars Battlefront added Cloud City maps, new weapons, new Star Cards, Lando Calrissian, Dengar, and a very specific kind of Star Wars fantasy: fighting above the clouds in one of the saga’s most stylish locations. And looking back now, it feels like one of those expansions that quietly understood something Star Wars games sometimes forget. A great Star Wars game does not always need to invent a galaxy-sized new idea. Sometimes it just needs to let players step inside a place they have wanted to visit for decades. Cloud City Was the Real Star Bespin is not just another Star Wars location. It has mood. Orange skies. Clean corridors. Luxury hiding danger. A city that looks…
Star Wars Galaxies and SWTOR Solved the Same Fantasy in Completely Different Ways
Every Star Wars MMO is secretly trying to answer one impossible question: How do you let players live in Star Wars? Not just visit it. Not just swing a lightsaber through a hallway while someone shouts about destiny. Actually live there. Star Wars Galaxies and Star Wars: The Old Republic both tried to solve that fantasy. They just came at it from completely different directions. One gave players a sandbox and said, “Go make a life.” The other gave players a story and said, “Go become someone.” Both answers worked. Both answers failed in places. And together, they explain why Star Wars MMOs still fascinate people years later. Star Wars Galaxies Made the Galaxy Feel Like a Place Star Wars Galaxies was not built around making every player feel like the main character. That was part of the magic. You could be a crafter. A dancer. A doctor. A scout….
Star Wars Galaxies Was the MMO That Let Players Live in the Galaxy Before SWTOR
On June 26, 2003, Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided launched in the United States. It did not arrive like a Death Star blast. It arrived carefully. Quietly, even. For a massive Star Wars MMO from LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment, that was almost strange. This was not just another licensed game. This was the dream: a living online Star Wars galaxy where players could become smugglers, scouts, entertainers, medics, artisans, bounty hunters, rebels, Imperials, merchants, citizens, weirdos, and eventually, if the galaxy felt especially cruel, Jedi. Before Star Wars: The Old Republic gave players cinematic class stories and fully voiced BioWare drama, Star Wars Galaxies offered something different. A place. Not just a story to follow. A galaxy to live in. Galaxies Was Built on a Different Fantasy Most Star Wars games put the player near the center of history. You are the Jedi. The commando. The pilot. The…
Star Wars Gamer Magazine Was Where the Galaxy Still Felt Like a Hobby
On June 19, 2001, Star Wars Gamer 4 was published by Wizards of the Coast. That sentence may not sound as dramatic as “a new Star Wars game launched” or “LucasArts changed PC gaming forever,” but it points to something just as interesting: a lost era when Star Wars gaming culture lived on paper. Before Discord servers. Before Reddit threads. Before YouTube lore explainers with thumbnail faces screaming at clone troopers. Before every build guide, patch note, mod, tier list, and argument was only one search away. There was a magazine. And for a specific kind of Star Wars fan, Star Wars Gamer was exactly the kind of strange, niche, deeply nerdy thing that made the galaxy feel like a hobby instead of a content machine. Star Wars Gaming Was Bigger Than Video Games The name Star Wars Gamer sounds like it should have been only about video games. But…
SWTOR’s Most Important Update Might Not Be Ryloth. It Might Be DirectX 12
Ryloth is exciting. Game Update 8.0 sounds like a proper next step for Star Wars: The Old Republic. A new planet, level 85, Dynamic Encounters, combat updates, and a fresh Operation will always get attention. But SWTOR’s most important future update might not be a planet. It might be DirectX 12. Not as flashy? Sure. Less likely to make a dramatic trailer with Sith staring into fog? Absolutely. But if we are talking about the long-term health of SWTOR, the move away from DirectX 9 could matter more than almost anything else on the roadmap. SWTOR Is Still Modernizing Under the Hood SWTOR’s technical team has explained that modernization remains a major priority for the game. Over the past few years, that has included visual updates, character refreshes, environment improvements, and the move to a 64-bit client. DirectX 12 is the next big technical mountain. And from the sound of…
After Legacy Reborn, SWTOR’s Real Future Might Be Ryloth
Legacy Reborn may be the finale, but it is not the end of the road for Star Wars: The Old Republic. In fact, the most interesting thing about SWTOR right now might be what comes after the ancient Sith machinery, Darth Jadus, Darth Nul’s masterworks, Khar Shian, and everyone’s favorite galaxy-ending “please stop touching old Sith things” problem. Because Game Update 8.0 is already being positioned as the next era of SWTOR’s story. And the big headline is Ryloth. Ryloth Is a Smart Choice for SWTOR The official livestream recap for Game Update 7.9 revealed that 8.0 will introduce Ryloth, the Twi’lek homeworld, as a new planet with Dynamic Encounters. That is a very good pick. Ryloth has always had strong Star Wars identity. It is not just another rocky planet with dramatic lighting and a suspicious number of ruins. It carries history, occupation, resistance, culture, clan politics, and one…
Before SWTOR Launched, Blood of the Empire Made the Sith Empire Feel Dangerous
On June 18, 2010, Star Wars: The Old Republic was still more than a year away from launch. Players had not yet rolled their first Sith Inquisitor. Nobody had rage-quit a flashpoint over loot. Nobody had spent too long choosing between two nearly identical robes because one had slightly better villain energy. But SWTOR was already building its world. That day marked the release of Blood of the Empire Act 2: The Broken World, the second chapter of the pre-launch webcomic that helped define what BioWare’s Old Republic era was going to feel like: political, brutal, ancient, and very comfortable with Sith making everyone’s day worse. This Was SWTOR Before SWTOR Before the MMO arrived, Blood of the Empire gave fans a taste of the Sith Empire from the inside. Not as a vague evil faction. Not as a faceless army of red lightsabers and dramatic robes. But as a…
SWTOR’s Legacy Reborn Trailer Is Late, But It Still Makes the Sith Finale Look Dangerous
SWTOR has released a new launch trailer for Legacy Reborn, and yes, it is a little funny that the “launch trailer” arrived after many players have already launched themselves directly into ancient Sith trouble. But timing jokes aside, the trailer does something useful. It reminds everyone what Legacy Reborn is really about: Darth Jadus, Darth Nul’s masterworks, Khar Shian, Naga Sadow’s forgotten fortress, and the kind of Old Republic Sith nonsense that makes this game still feel uniquely valuable in Star Wars. You can watch the new Legacy Reborn launch trailer below: Jadus Is Back Where He Belongs: Making Everything Worse The trailer’s setup is simple and sharp. Darth Jadus has stolen the key to Darth Nul’s masterworks, and the race to Khar Shian has begun. That is a very SWTOR sentence. Most Star Wars stories would be content with “bad guy stole dangerous thing.” SWTOR, being SWTOR, turns that…
Before YouTube Guides, Star Wars: Episode I Racer Needed a Book
On June 16, 1999, Star Wars: Episode I Racer got the most 1999 thing imaginable. A strategy guide. Not a YouTube walkthrough. Not a Discord build thread. Not a 12-minute video called “BEST PODRACER SETUP, YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG.” A book. Star Wars: Episode I Racer: Prima’s Official Strategy Guide arrived for players who needed help surviving the galaxy’s most irresponsible motorsport, and honestly, that little paperback says a lot about how different Star Wars gaming used to feel. Podracing Was Fast, Weird, and Mean Episode I Racer was not just a quick movie tie-in. It was one of the great Star Wars gaming memories of the Nintendo 64 era: fast, dangerous, slightly chaotic, and somehow much better than a game about tiny space engines had any right to be. The pitch was simple. Take the podracing scene from The Phantom Menace, crank the speed until the controller starts sweating,…
Star Wars Zero Company’s Most Interesting Detail Might Be Its Separatist Cult Villain
Star Wars Zero Company already has the easy pitch. Clone Wars. Turn-based tactics. A gritty squad of operatives. Cover, blasters, droids, Jedi, Mandalorians, permadeath, and enough tactical panic to make every bad decision feel personally expensive. But the most interesting detail might not be the squad. It might be the villain. EA describes the game’s central threat as Kundri Fathom, the enigmatic leader of a Separatist-aligned cult called the Infinite Coil. That single idea instantly makes Zero Company feel more interesting than “go fight battle droids again.” Because a Separatist cult? That is the good weird stuff. The Clone Wars Needs More Than Familiar Faces The Clone Wars era is packed with recognizable pieces. Clone troopers. Jedi generals. Battle droids. Separatist bases. Republic officers. Mandalorians. Dark schemes. Political collapse. Excellent helmets. That is all great, obviously. But a new Star Wars game cannot survive only by pointing at familiar toys…
SWTOR Is Finally Turning Darth Nul From Mystery Into Myth
For years, Star Wars: The Old Republic has been at its best when it remembers that Sith lore should feel dangerous, ancient, and slightly like something nobody sane should have opened. Enter Darth Nul. Not just another red-lightsaber problem. Not just another name carved into some old ruin because the Sith apparently never met a wall they did not want to monologue on. Darth Nul has become one of SWTOR’s most interesting mysteries because she sits at the center of several things the game does unusually well: forgotten Sith history, dangerous relics, personal obsession, and the uncomfortable idea that some secrets should probably stay dead. Darth Nul Is More Than a Holocron The recent Legacy Reborn storyline puts Darth Nul’s holocron right at the heart of the chaos. Darth Jadus has stolen it. Heta Kol and the Hidden Chain have reconstructed Darth Nul’s ultimate machine on Khar Shian. Darth Malgus…
SWTOR PvP Season 10 Is Asking Players to Grind for Honor Again
SWTOR PvP players, it is time to return to the arena, pretend this match will be calm, and then immediately watch someone leap into chaos like credits are falling from the ceiling. PvP Season 10, Honor in Battle, is now live in Star Wars: The Old Republic, bringing a new reward track, new armor sets, decorations, titles, flairs, achievements, and vendor items. And because this is SWTOR PvP, the real question is not “are there rewards?” The real question is: how badly do you want them? The Honor in Battle Grind Is Live According to the official SWTOR update, Free-to-Play and Preferred players receive 4 Weekly Objectives, while Subscribers receive 6 Weekly Objectives after the weekly reset. All players can complete up to 4 objectives per week to progress the reward track. That keeps the structure simple enough. Play PvP. Complete objectives. Earn progress. Try not to type anything regrettable…
SWTOR’s Next Galactic Seasons Week Is a Pretty Good Excuse to Log In
Sometimes Star Wars: The Old Republic does not need a massive update, a dramatic Sith prophecy, or a galaxy-shaking betrayal to pull players back in. Sometimes it just needs a weekly checklist that quietly says: “Go on. You know you want the Conquest points.” SWTOR’s Galactic Seasons 10, Secrets of the Syndicate, continues with Week 15 running from June 16 to June 22, and the latest objective list is actually a solid excuse to log in if your character has been parked in a stronghold pretending to be retired. According to the official SWTOR Galactic Seasons objectives post, Week 15 once again asks players to complete any 7 out of 11 weekly objectives, with the usual daily goal of earning 25,000 Personal Conquest Points across your Legacy. Altuur Zok Adon Gets the Spotlight This week’s companion-focused objective is built around Altuur zok Adon. Players can earn 200,000 Personal Conquest Points…
Star Wars Zero Company’s Scariest Feature Is Not Combat. It’s Who Can Die
Star Wars Zero Company may have lightsabers, blasters, Clone Wars battlefields, tactical cover, action points, and enough squad customization to ruin your evening in the best possible way. But the scariest feature is not the combat system. It is permadeath. According to PC Gamer’s recent Zero Company breakdown, Bit Reactor’s upcoming Star Wars tactics game gives each squad member three action points per turn, while also allowing operatives to die permanently. That includes custom characters and story characters. In other words, this is not just Star Wars XCOM with clone helmets. This is Star Wars XCOM where your favorite disaster gremlin with a blaster might not make it home. Star Wars Hits Harder When Loss Matters Permadeath is a dangerous mechanic for a story-driven game. Players get attached. Players build favorites. Players name custom operatives something stupid, give them the coolest helmet, then immediately pretend they are emotionally prepared when…
Star Wars Zero Company’s Pre-Order Page Shows What EA Is Really Selling
Star Wars Zero Company is no longer just “that Clone Wars tactics game we keep comparing to XCOM until someone throws a thermal detonator at us.” EA has now opened the pre-order push properly, and the official landing page makes the pitch very clear: this is a turn-based Star Wars tactics game built around operatives, customization, squad bonds, and enough Clone Wars-era cosmetic bait to make collectors start sweating politely. The game is currently set to launch on August 27, 2026, across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. And yes, if you already know you are going in, you can pre-order Star Wars Zero Company on Amazon. Will that make your tactical decisions better? Absolutely not. Will it make the waiting feel slightly more official? Probably. What Comes With Zero Company Pre-Orders? According to EA’s official Zero Company page, pre-ordering any edition unlocks the Crystalline Astromech Cosmetic Pack. That is the pre-order-only…
Battlefront II’s Han Solo Update Made Kessel Playable, and It Still Feels Like a Missed Blueprint
Star Wars Battlefront II is having one of those weeks where it quietly reminds everyone that it refuses to fully leave the building. The Battle Point Event is live, which means lower reinforcement costs, more chaos on the field, and exactly the sort of “why is everyone suddenly a death machine?” energy that keeps this game strangely alive years after official content support ended. And that makes this the perfect time to look back at one of the game’s most interesting updates. On June 12, 2018, Star Wars Battlefront II released Han Solo Season Update 2, bringing Kessel, Extraction, new Solo-era appearances, and Lando’s Millennium Falcon into the game. It was not the biggest update Battlefront II ever received. But it may have been one of the clearest examples of what the game was always good at when it got out of its own way. Kessel Was Exactly the Kind…
Star Wars: Galactic Racer’s Collector’s Edition Knows Exactly Which Fans It Wants to Hurt
Star Wars: Galactic Racer is already doing something dangerous. It is not just bringing back the old Star Wars racing fantasy. It is also going directly after the shelf space, wallets, and nostalgia centers of fans who still hear “Now this is podracing” somewhere deep in the brain. The game is set to launch on October 6, 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with Standard, Deluxe, and Collector’s Editions available. Pre-order bonuses include an extra livery for your repulsorcraft and a special player banner for multiplayer modes. That is the normal stuff. The Collector’s Edition is where the wallet starts hearing boss music. What Comes in the Galactic Racer Collector’s Edition? The Star Wars: Galactic Racer Collector’s Edition is aimed squarely at the kind of fan who looks at a racing game and thinks, “Yes, but what if it also came with things I can put on…
Star Wars Zero Company Has No Romance, and That Might Be the Right Call
Star Wars Zero Company has companions, squad bonds, story characters, base interactions, permadeath, and enough tactical pressure to make every bad decision feel like it should come with paperwork. What it apparently does not have is romance. According to PC Gamer’s latest overview of the game, Zero Company includes BioWare-style companion energy, approval-style relationships, and squad interaction, but no player romance arcs. For some RPG fans, that may sound like a missed opportunity. For this particular Star Wars game, it might actually be smart. Zero Company Is About Bonds, Not Dating The important distinction here is that Zero Company is not ignoring relationships. Quite the opposite. The game seems heavily built around them. Players lead a squad of original and customizable characters through covert Clone Wars missions, building trust, bonds, and tactical synergy along the way. EA has also described the team as an unlikely ensemble of allies who must…
Star Wars Zero Company Giveaway Offers Custom Xbox Controllers and Deluxe Edition Codes
Star Wars Zero Company is already giving tactics fans plenty to think about: squad bonds, Clone Wars-era missions, custom operators, base management, and the very real possibility of ruining a perfect plan in the first two turns. Now there is something much simpler on the table. Free stuff. A new Custom Controller Giveaway is live, giving fans a chance to win one of five custom-designed Xbox Series X wireless controllers and a Deluxe Edition game code for Star Wars Zero Company at launch. Five runners-up will also receive a Deluxe Edition game code. Not bad for entering a sweepstakes and hoping the Force has finally stopped ignoring your inbox. What Can You Win? According to the official sweepstakes rules, five grand prize winners will each receive: One custom-designed Xbox Series X wireless controller One digital copy of Star Wars Zero Company Deluxe Edition The Deluxe Edition code is redeemable on…
Star Wars: Droid Tycoon Proves Fortnite Might Be the New Star Wars Arcade
A Star Wars game just passed 1.5 billion minutes played in its first month. No, not Zero Company. Not Galaxy of Heroes. Not some surprise remake of Knights of the Old Republic that appeared overnight because the Force finally answered everyone’s group chat. It happened in Fortnite. According to GamesBeat, Star Wars: Droid Tycoon has surpassed 1.5 billion total play minutes since launching on May 1. The creator-made Fortnite experience also reportedly peaked at 124,000 concurrent players, with average session lengths over 100 minutes. That is not a cute little side activity. That is a lot of people building droids instead of touching grass. Droid Tycoon Is Not Just a Star Wars Skin The most interesting part is not only the number. It is why the game worked. Future Trash CEO Kevin Marciano told GamesBeat that the team did not simply “port” a Star Wars experience into Fortnite. They built…
Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic Just Got a Very Important Story Boost
For a game calling itself a spiritual successor to Knights of the Old Republic, story is not a side dish. It is the meal. That is why the latest Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic news matters. Arcanaut Studios has reportedly added Tony Elias as narrative director, while sci-fi author Jenny “J.S.” Dewes has joined the writing team. On paper, that sounds like normal development staffing. In reality, for a new Old Republic RPG led by Casey Hudson, it is exactly the kind of update fans should be watching closely. Because if this game gets anything wrong, it cannot be the writing. Tony Elias Joins as Narrative Director According to FRVR, Tony Elias has joined Arcanaut Studios as narrative director on Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic. His past work includes the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Remedy’s Quantum Break, and the cancelled Wonder Woman…