I know you're with me. Jedi Fallen Order and Survivor have incredible replayability, Outlaws is a ton of fun (even if it has some mixed reviews), and Zero Company looks promising as heck. But none of these quite scratch that real-time strategy itch. None of them hit that old-school Homeworld, Age of Empires, or StarCraft 2 urge that we strategy gamers have.
When was the last great Star Wars strategy game?
Empire at War is almost 20 years old. Don't get me wrong—it's still going strong, especially among the modding community. They even released an update as recently as November 2023. And just this June, it averaged 2,367 players per day on Steam, with a peak of 4,124. That might not sound like a lot, but the only games with more players on Steam were Battlefront II, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Jedi: Survivor (yes, I know, a lot of Survivor and Fallen Order players are console players). Even still, Empire at War hit almost half the numbers of The Old Republic.
That's crazy for a game that's almost 20 years old and still looks like this:
Owned at empire at war btw pic.twitter.com/lkjoM54Bm8
— Mewlyn (@MewlynMewlyn) June 30, 2025
And before that? Galactic Battlegrounds came out in 2001, Force Commander in 2000, and Rebellion in 1998—though that last one has a special place in my heart, even if it is ugly as a Hutt in a gold bikini.
Not only do we have a distinct lack of Star Wars strategy games, but we also have a lack of quality space strategy games in general. And I don't understand it.
Strategy games—and specifically real-time strategy games—have always been and will always be popular. Sometimes, gamers want to do more than control Luke Skywalker or Cal Kestis or some random gunslinger from a galaxy far far away. We want to control fleets of Star Destroyers, hordes of TIE Fighters, and blow planets apart with our own Death Star.
Since the last Star Wars strategy game in 2006, Ensemble Studios remastered their classic, Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, and have even released Age of Empires IV. Crusader Kings has released a second and third installment (three is a classic already—that game is addictive). Sid Meier's Civilization 5, 6, & 7 have even been released!
Notice something? Not a lot of space strategy games in there. Yes, we've had Sins of a Solar Empire, Stellaris, and Distant Worlds 1 & 2. Homeworld even tried their shot with a third installment (with an impressive rating of "Mostly Negative" on Steam).
The field is ripe for a Star Wars RTS. The universe is filled with fantastic ship designs, incredible space battles, and dozens of different "civilizations" to play from. The Mandalorians vs. High Republic? The Sith vs. The Rebellion? Heck, First Order vs. The Empire. Who doesn't want to see the Death Star blow away Starkiller Base?
Come on. Give the people (me) what they want. If not, I'll just find a mod for Empire at War and do it myself.
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