The vast universe of Star Wars has always held a unique appeal for audiences of all ages, serving as a cultural touchstone that brings people together through a shared love for a galaxy far, far away. This unifying power extends strongly into the realm of video games, where passionate developers have allowed fans to step into that universe and interact with each other, whether teaming up or facing off in thrilling digital conflicts.
Across various generations of gaming, Star Wars titles have offered diverse multiplayer experiences, enabling players to wield blasters and lightsabers or command starships in iconic settings. Beyond just the competitive or cooperative gameplay, many of these games have also featured compelling stories and impressive visuals that immerse players in the saga.
Here are the 9 best Star Wars multiplayer games, ranked by their multiplayer offerings:
9. Star Wars: Battlefront (2015)
(Released: 2015) Serving as a reboot alongside the start of a new film trilogy, Star Wars: Battlefront (2015), developed by DICE and EA, aimed to bring back large-scale planetary skirmishes with visually stunning fidelity. At its time, it boasted some of the most advanced graphics, effectively immersing players in iconic Star Wars locales. However, despite its impressive presentation, the game largely failed to meet fan expectations for a reboot. Its biggest drawback was a noticeable lack of content, with a limited number of maps and game modes for online play. Much of what was offered could be experienced in just a few hours. Even when playing with friends, the game often felt more like a visually polished demo than a complete experience, providing only temporary enjoyment before its repetitive nature became apparent compared to its predecessors.
8. Star Wars: Battlefront (2004)
(Released: 2004) The original Star Wars: Battlefront was a game-changer upon its release in 2004, boldly envisioning the franchise as a military shooter that allowed players to step directly into cinematic battles from the movies. Whether fighting as a Stormtrooper on Cloud City or leading a charge as a battle droid across the grassy fields of Naboo, the game effectively made those large-scale skirmishes feel real, particularly on platforms like the PS2. Even today, the original holds a special place in many fans’ hearts, remembered for its intuitive user interface, expansive maps, and intense battles. While perhaps not as technically advanced as later titles, its impact was undeniable. It defined the childhood gaming experiences of many through its robust single-player “Instant Action” mode and, crucially, its memorable local multiplayer combat.
7. Star Wars Episode 1: Racer
(Released: 1999) Based entirely around the thrilling pod-racing sequence from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Episode 1: Racer invited players to participate in high-speed racing circuits across various planets. Beyond the races themselves, a surprising amount of depth was offered through being able to purchase upgrades for your pod from Watto’s shop, adding a layer of strategy, especially given the variety of racers involved. On its original platforms like the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation 1, the game featured a direct two-player local multiplayer mode, allowing friends to race head-to-head against each other and CPU opponents across multiple Star Wars track locations. The game accurately captured the intense, dangerous speeds of podracing, making for a fun but often challenging experience where even a single obstacle could destroy your vehicle, resulting in hectic, close races.
6. Star Wars: Empire At War
(Released: 2006) For fans of strategic gameplay, Star Wars: Empire At War provided a perfect fit for the franchise’s large-scale conflicts. Thanks to ongoing updates on Steam, this real-time strategy title still maintains online functionality, allowing up to four players to engage in intense strategic action as either the Galactic Empire or the Rebel Alliance. Beyond its multiplayer, it also features an engaging campaign exploring aspects of the Galactic Civil War. The Forces Of Corruption expansion further enhanced the multiplayer by adding the Zann Consortium as a third playable faction. Players familiar with RTS games like StarCraft or Halo Wars can easily pick up Empire At War, and a dedicated modding community continues to expand the game for new and veteran fans alike.
5. Star Wars Squadrons
(Released: 2020) Star Wars Squadrons serves as a focused and visually stunning spiritual successor to classic space combat simulators like Star Wars: X-Wing and Star Wars: TIE Fighter. While it includes an enjoyable canon story mode exploring perspectives from the New Republic and Imperial Remnant, this mode effectively acts as a detailed tutorial for the game’s online multiplayer. With deep customization options for both pilots and starships, Squadrons allows up to ten players to participate in intense intergalactic dogfights that look and sound ripped straight from the movies. The gameplay is intentionally challenging, with each ship possessing realistic weight and drift in space, forcing players to master their piloting skills to survive and succeed in combat.
4. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
(Released: 2022) While intense competitive battles are fun, sometimes you just want a lighthearted adventure to share, and LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is arguably the best solution for that. For over two decades, developer Traveller’s Tales has perfected the art of crafting silly yet entertaining LEGO games suitable for the whole family, and that tradition continues here. As the title suggests, this game lovingly recreates all nine mainline Star Wars films, making iconic moments playable for all ages. Its strength as a multiplayer game lies in its extensive local cooperative mode, allowing two players to freely explore open-world planets across all eras, smashing everything in sight, collecting LEGO studs, unlocking a massive roster of characters, and enjoying the signature humor and antics that the LEGO games have been known for since the early 2000s.
3. Star Wars: The Old Republic
(Released: 2011) For fans dreaming of truly living a life in the Star Wars universe, Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) is the closest experience currently available. This ambitious MMORPG allows players to define their own destiny, choosing from multiple classes aligned with either the light or dark side of the Force – whether wielding a lightsaber as a Jedi Knight or smuggling goods as a wanted criminal. Thanks to BioWare’s storytelling expertise, players can make meaningful choices that shape their character’s journey. SWTOR provides plenty of multiplayer enjoyment within a persistent online world, akin to games like World Of Warcraft or Guild Wars 2. Friends and strangers alike can band together to form guilds and take on cooperative story content, challenging dungeons (Flashpoints), large-scale operations (raids), and other objectives across a galaxy far, far away.
2. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2005)
(Released: 2005) Building directly upon the significant success of its predecessor, the now-defunct Pandemic Games pushed the franchise even further with Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2005). It wisely retained the core elements that made the original so popular while significantly expanding upon them and addressing some key issues. For instance, the inclusion of playable heroes and villains was greatly enhanced, featuring more beloved legacy characters from both the original and prequel trilogies and even gaining their own dedicated gameplay mode. More varied infantry classes were introduced, alongside a wider array of war-centric modes beyond standard conquest, including the new story mode, Galactic Conquest, Assault, Capture The Flag, and more. The core gameplay was similar but notably refined, embodying what a proper sequel should be: an upgrade from the original in nearly every meaningful way for both its single-player and, critically, its multiplayer components.
1. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017)
(Released: 2017) Despite a heavily controversial launch marred by pay-to-win microtransactions and a perceived lack of content, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017), developed by EA, DICE, and Motive, underwent a remarkable turnaround. Instead of abandoning the project, the developers worked tirelessly to remove the widely criticized pay-to-win systems and deliver a much more robust multiplayer experience. After numerous updates and substantial free content patches, the game achieved a massive redemption arc. Today, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017) feels like the definitive reboot of the beloved franchise it was meant to be. It features a wealth of modes to enjoy, content spanning all Star Wars eras, a vast roster of iconic characters, and included a substantial canon story mode that was sorely missing in the first EA game. Even years after its final major content update, a dedicated fanbase continues to play on its servers daily, a testament to the quality of the multiplayer experience it eventually became.
