Star Wars Galaxies was a sandbox MMORPG developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts, launched in North America in June 2003. Its promise was unusual for a licensed game: you did not have to be a hero. You could be a weaponsmith, a dancer in a cantina, a doctor, a bounty hunter or the elected mayor of a player-built town, all inside a player-driven economy with thousands of resource types.

The official servers closed on December 15, 2011, when Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts ended the game. Fan projects had already been working on emulating it for years, and today Star Wars Galaxies lives on through community-run private servers - each one recreating a particular version of a game that changed dramatically during its lifetime.

A Galaxy Built by Players

At launch there were 34 professions, six basic and 24 advanced, and you spread skill points across their trees to build almost any mix you liked. Crafters supplied nearly everything players used. Entertainers could change other players' appearance. Politicians founded and ran cities. Players built, owned and decorated their own buildings, grouped them into player cities, elected a mayor every three weeks and added services such as cloning and hospitals.

The expansions widened the galaxy. Jump to Lightspeed added space combat in 2004, Rage of the Wookiees brought Kashyyyk in 2005, and Trials of Obi-Wan added Mustafar later that year. Becoming a Jedi changed too: at first it meant completing a hidden checklist to unlock a Jedi slot, later it became a profession path and then a quest system.

What to Look For in a Star Wars Galaxies Private Server

Pre-CU, CU or NGE

This is the decision that matters most, because the three eras are almost different games. Pre-CU is the launch-era game with its 34 professions and freeform skill builds. The Combat Upgrade, or CU, reworked combat for a short period in 2005. The New Game Enhancements, or NGE, arrived in November 2005, cut the list to nine professions plus three optional side professions, and turned ground combat into something real-time and shooter-like. Community servers emulate different eras, so choose the one you actually want to play.

Crafting and Resources

Galaxies without a working economy is not Galaxies. Check that resource spawns, harvesting and crafting work across the professions you care about, that player vendors are in use, and that the server has not flooded the game with loot that makes crafted gear pointless.

How Complete the Emulation Is

Every server is rebuilding a game from the outside, and progress varies. Find out which planets, expansions and systems are in - space combat, Kashyyyk and Mustafar, every profession, the Jedi path for that era - and what is still missing or custom. A clear, current list of working features is a good sign of an honest team.

Cities and Community

Player cities need citizens, mayors and politics, and that needs a stable population. Look at how many cities are active, whether elections happen, and which time zones the busy hours fall in. A small, dedicated server can be great for a crafter; a lonely one is hard on an entertainer.

Rules and Staff

Sandbox games depend on rules about things like multiple accounts and unattended play, because they shape the economy for everyone. Read the server rules and see how actively the staff enforce them and talk to players.

Choosing Your Era

Settle on an era first - pre-CU for freeform professions, NGE for faster action combat - then choose a server whose emulation covers what you want to do. Join a city early, because Galaxies was always a social game. Vote for the server you play on; rankings here start again every month, so the list below follows where players are now.