As the first MMO based on the expansive and much-beloved world of Star Wars, Star Wars Galaxies not only paved the way for multiple franchise games afterward but also helped set the blueprint for what a successful sci-fi MMO looked like. First announced in 2000, Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided was released in 2003 and was met with widespread critical acclaim. It allowed gamers and fans of the series to get hands-on with the world of Star Wars, and let them explore planets, races, and professions that were either just glimpsed or mentioned in the films, or only existed in the previous Star Wars expanded universe.
Sadly, after almost a decade, the servers for Star Wars Galaxies were shut down in 2011, as the game faced an expiring license and the slow rollout of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Star Wars Galaxies did face some controversies after its final update in 2005, which left players feeling as if the game had been over-simplified and overhauled beyond recognition and led to petitions for refunds just days after purchasing the latest expansion. Despite a slightly sour note towards the end of the game's life, there is no doubt that Star Wars Galaxies was foundational for titles that followed, both in and out of the Star Wars series.
The Best Features Of Star Wars Galaxies
Developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts, Star Wars Galaxies was set after the destruction of the Death Star in Episode 4: A New Hope, but before the events of Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back. This gave players a chance to explore the galaxy at a key time in the Star Wars canon, as well as one of the most iconic and popular moments in the films. Star Wars Galaxies perfected the mix between the familiar and the new, allowing gamers to explore fan-favorite locations like Tatooine and Mos Eisley, as well as branching out to previously unseen environments like Corellia and Doaba Guerfel.
As well as the mix between old and new for Star Wars Galaxies' locations, the game offered a multitude of races for players to utilize in character creation. While Star Wars has always been a world bursting with a myriad of creatively designed and memorable aliens, the films and games have always had a more human and Jedi-focused arc.
While this is not necessarily a negative, it's when the games follow a wider variety of characterization and storytelling that they really play to their strengths. Star Wars Galaxies let players choose between Human, Twi'lek, Wookie, Zabrak, Rodian, Trandoshan, Bothan, Mon Calamari, Sullustan, and Ithorian as the player's race – a brilliantly diverse grouping that added to the game's appeal.
For an MMO to thrive, it needs to offer players a lot. Not just in terms of activities or modes, but also nuanced and well-thought-out ways to create the characters and really make them their own. In addition to the variety of races, Star Wars Galaxies had nine professions on offer, from Bounty Hunters to Entertainers, with further subdivisions and optional sub-professions like Pilot. This multi-leveled system offered gamers a lot of creative ways to fully develop their characters, and while some considered it a little too complex, it's still an important aspect of any MMORPG.
Star Wars Galaxies provided a depth that the films had barely scratched the surface of and a level of interactivity with the popular franchise that was previously unseen. It was ambitious, expansive, and focused on community — as any good MMO should be. There were complex social systems in place, player-generated economies and narratives, and at times a thriving, invested playerbase.
What Star Wars Galaxies suffered from was persistent balance issues with a forced focus on Jedi elements, and what caused players to abandon the previously nuanced community dynamics was a lack of quest and story content. It didn't have the overarching focus that titles like Destiny 2 or Star Wars: The Old Republic would cultivate, and this proved to be its downfall as other MMOs took over. That being said, Star Wars Galaxies provided the building blocks of later MMOs with its creativity, scope, and commitment to giving players freedom within the world.
A Template For Sci-Fi MMOs
Although Star Wars Galaxies was not without its flaws, it still managed to create an immersive and almost completely player-led environment — something that serves an MMO well if it can get it right. With titles like EVE Online adopting a similar model, it shows how sometimes player-driven content can be the best thing about a game. When Star Wars Galaxies was at its best, it gave gamers the freedom to completely create and drive its multi-faceted economy. With its array of professions, skills, and options for gamers, Star Wars Galaxies was an example of how future sci-fi MMOs could operate their own class systems and economies.
With sci-fi settings, offering players multiple planets to explore and many ways of navigating them is a good way to keep them invested and keeping the world from feeling stale. With Star Wars Galaxies' first expansion, Jump to Lightspeed , the developers added explorable space sections for each original planet, broadening the horizons for players. With a combination of playable and non-playable ships, Star Wars Galaxies gave players the chance to get off the ground and indulge in the full sci-fi experience. Space combat also presented a change of pace for players, with customizable ships and the ability to walk around the ship's interior once the Pilot profession was mastered.
The Resurgence Of Star Wars Galaxies
The original Star Wars Galaxies may have shut down its servers in 2011, but fans of the game didn't let it die. The sci-fi MMO has spawned community-created rogue servers like Star Wars Galaxies: Legends, which lets the game live on in an adapted form thanks to a source code leak in 2013.Star Wars Galaxies has even had a recent resurgence, as a free, fan-made project created to bring back the popular MMO called Star Wars Galaxies Restoration 3. The development team has promised to bring back more of the classic game elements from the original title and has said that 2022 should be a promising year for the Star Wars Galaxies emulation.
Star Wars Galaxies has discontinued subscription since 2011.