Star Wars Galaxies, shut down in 2011, survives today through dedicated fan emulator servers and is prized for its unmatched player crafting and profession depth. The Old Republic remains officially operated by BioWare/EA as a free-to-play MMO with fully voiced class stories. Pick Galaxies for player-driven depth, The Old Republic for an actively maintained official game.
Two very different official Star Wars MMOs, kept alive in very different ways — Galaxies through fan-run emulator servers after SOE shut it down, The Old Republic as an actively updated, officially operated free-to-play game.
| Star Wars Galaxies | Star Wars: The Old Republic | |
|---|---|---|
| Official status today | Shut down 2011; runs via fan emulator servers | Officially operated, free-to-play |
| Character system | Skill-based, no fixed classes, deep player professions | Fixed class and Force alignment stories |
| Download size | ~3.5 GB | ~75 GB |
| Setting era | Original trilogy era | Roughly 3,600 years before the films |
| Player housing/crafting | Extremely deep — one of the genre's best crafting systems | Present but secondary to story |
| Voice acting | None (2003-era MMO) | Fully voiced class stories |
You want the deepest player-driven economy and profession system the genre has produced, and don't mind it running on fan servers.
You want an officially maintained, fully voiced MMO with ongoing content updates.
The greatest sandbox MMORPG ever conceived, delivering player-built planetary cities, deep non-combat crafting economies, and total galactic roleplaying freedom.
Knights of the Old Republic is one of those games where the Star Wars license almost becomes secondary to how good the RPG actually is. BioWare gave you a party worth getting attached to, decisions that genuinely change how you experience the story, and a galaxy that feels worth exploring rather than simply recognizable. And then it pulls off that twist.
Star Wars Galaxies, shut down in 2011, survives today through dedicated fan emulator servers and is prized for its unmatched player crafting and profession depth. The Old Republic remains officially operated by BioWare/EA as a free-to-play MMO with fully voiced class stories. Pick Galaxies for player-driven depth, The Old Republic for an actively maintained official game.
You want the deepest player-driven economy and profession system the genre has produced, and don't mind it running on fan servers.
You want an officially maintained, fully voiced MMO with ongoing content updates.
Yes. Star Wars Galaxies is released under Community servers (see edition ToS) and Star Wars: The Old Republic under Free to Play. Both are entirely free with no trials, paid tiers or in-game purchases.