The Best Star Wars Games to Start With If You Are New
New to Star Wars games? Five strong starting points by play style, from Jedi action and open-world crime to starfighter dogfights and a classic RPG.
There are well over a hundred Star Wars video games, and they cover almost every genre: role-playing games, shooters, flight simulators, strategy, racing and more. That variety is a strength, but it can make the first choice surprisingly hard. A brilliant game in a genre you dislike is still a bad starting point.
The simplest approach is to start from how you like to play, not from where a game sits on the timeline. This guide picks five games that are widely available on current hardware, each representing a different play style, and explains why each is a good door into the galaxy, what era it is set in, and what kind of player will enjoy it most. If you later want to place everything on the in-universe calendar, our guide to Star Wars games in chronological story order covers that.
How These Picks Were Chosen
Every game below meets three criteria. First, it can be bought and played on current consoles or PC today without hunting for old hardware. Second, it stands on its own: you do not need to have played earlier games to follow it. Third, it is representative of its genre, so if you enjoy it, you will know where to look next.
Prices and sales change constantly, so they are not mentioned here. Platform information reflects official releases as of October 2026; always check the store page for your system before buying.
For Story-Driven Action: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Survivor
If you want to feel like a Jedi, this is the place to begin. Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) follows Cal Kestis, a young Padawan who survived Order 66 and has spent five years hiding as a scrap worker. When he is exposed by using the Force, he goes on the run from the Empire’s Inquisitors with the crew of a small ship, the Mantis.
The game is a third-person action-adventure with deliberate, timing-based lightsaber combat, platforming and planets that open up as you gain new abilities. Combat rewards blocking and parrying at the right moment, but the game offers several difficulty settings, so players who simply want the story can lower the challenge.
Its sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (2023), is set five years later and expands everything: larger planets, more lightsaber stances, and more companions. Start with Fallen Order; Survivor assumes you know the characters.
- Era: The Imperial era, during the Jedi Purge between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
- Canon status: Canon.
- Platforms: Fallen Order launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC in November 2019, with enhanced versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2021. Survivor launched on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on April 28, 2023, and came to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 17, 2024.
- Best for: Players who like cinematic single-player adventures and want lightsaber combat at the heart of the game.
For Open-World Exploration: Star Wars Outlaws
Not everyone wants to be a Jedi. Massive Entertainment’s Star Wars Outlaws (2024), published by Ubisoft, puts you in the boots of Kay Vess, a scoundrel trying to pull off a big heist with her small companion Nix. Instead of the Force, she relies on a blaster, stealth, a speeder bike and her ability to talk her way through the criminal underworld.
The game’s biggest draw is freedom. You can roam several planets, fly between them in your ship, play the card game sabacc in cantinas, and decide which crime syndicates to work for. Your reputation with groups such as the Hutt Cartel and Crimson Dawn changes how they treat you. It captures the dusty, lived-in side of Star Wars more than any recent game.
- Era: Between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, during the height of the Galactic Civil War.
- Canon status: Canon.
- Platforms: Released August 30, 2024 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC; a Nintendo Switch 2 version followed on September 4, 2025. Two story packs, Wild Card and A Pirate’s Fortune, were released after launch.
- Best for: Players who love open worlds, stealth, and the smuggler fantasy of Han Solo rather than the mysticism of the Jedi.
For Large-Scale Battles: Star Wars Battlefront II (2017)
EA DICE’s Star Wars Battlefront II is the game that most directly recreates the films’ big battle scenes. Its online modes put you in huge ground and space battles across every era, with troopers, vehicles and hero characters such as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Rey and Kylo Ren. The audiovisual presentation remains one of the most faithful in any Star Wars game.
For newcomers, the single-player campaign is the better first step. It follows Iden Versio, an Imperial special forces commander, from the Battle of Endor into the turbulent years after the Empire’s defeat. It is relatively short, but it works as a guided tour of the game’s mechanics before you jump online.
The game had a controversial launch in 2017 over its progression and loot-box system, which EA overhauled in 2018. The version available today removed paid randomised upgrades, and it received a long run of free updates until 2020, so it is a much more complete package than at release.
- Era: The campaign runs from the end of the original trilogy into the sequel era; the multiplayer mixes all eras.
- Canon status: The campaign is canon.
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC (also playable on newer consoles through backward compatibility).
- Best for: Players who want spectacle, multiplayer and the chance to play as famous characters from every film.
A note on the older Battlefronts
Pandemic Studios’ original Battlefront (2004) and Battlefront II (2005) were re-released together as the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection in 2024. They are fun, but the 2017 game is the more approachable start because of its modern controls and larger online population.
For Dogfighting: Star Wars: Squadrons
Some of the most memorable moments in Star Wars happen in a cockpit. EA Motive’s Star Wars: Squadrons (2020) is a dedicated starfighter game in which you fly X-wings, A-wings, TIE fighters and other classic ships entirely from the pilot’s seat. You manage power between engines, weapons and shields, which gives the combat a tactical layer that arcade flight games lack.
Its single-player campaign alternates between two pilots: one in the New Republic’s Vanguard Squadron and one in the Empire’s Titan Squadron, which lets you see both sides of the war. It is a good way to learn the controls before trying the online modes.
- Era: The prologue begins in the Galactic Civil War, and the main campaign is set after the Battle of Endor.
- Canon status: Canon.
- Platforms: Released October 2, 2020 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, with optional virtual reality support on PlayStation VR and PC VR headsets.
- Best for: Players who want to fly, especially those with a VR headset, a flight stick or a fondness for the X-Wing and TIE Fighter games of the 1990s.
For a Classic Story: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
BioWare’s Knights of the Old Republic (2003), usually shortened to KOTOR, is regularly named one of the greatest Star Wars stories in any medium. Set thousands of years before the films, it follows a hero who joins the war against the Sith Lord Darth Malak, assembling a crew of memorable companions and making choices that push them toward the light or dark side.
It is the oldest game on this list, and its combat is based on pausing and queuing actions rather than real-time action. That can feel slow at first, but it gives the game room to focus on dialogue, characters and one of the most famous plot twists in gaming. If you enjoy reading and conversation-heavy games, its age matters far less than you might expect.
- Era: The Old Republic, around four thousand years before the films.
- Canon status: Legends, as it predates the 2014 canon reset.
- Platforms: Originally released on Xbox and PC in 2003. Aspyr has since brought it to mobile devices and, in 2021, to Nintendo Switch, and the PC version remains available on digital stores.
- Best for: Players who love role-playing games, branching dialogue and story above action.
A remake was announced in 2021, but as of October 2026 it has not been released, so the original is the version to play.
Quick Comparison Table
| Game | Genre | Era | Single-player focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) | Action-adventure | Imperial era | Yes |
| Star Wars Outlaws (2024) | Open-world action | Galactic Civil War | Yes |
| Battlefront II (2017) | Shooter | All eras (campaign: post-Endor) | Short campaign, mainly online |
| Squadrons (2020) | Space combat | Galactic Civil War / New Republic | Campaign plus online |
| Knights of the Old Republic (2003) | Role-playing | Old Republic | Yes |
Common Mistakes New Players Make
- Starting with an old game because it is famous. Classics such as Dark Forces or the Rogue Squadron series are worth playing, but their controls and design can frustrate newcomers. Begin with a modern game and work backwards.
- Choosing by timeline rather than taste. Playing in story order is fun later, but a first game you do not enjoy can put you off the whole series.
- Jumping straight into online play. In Battlefront II and Squadrons, the campaigns teach mechanics that experienced online players take for granted.
- Skipping difficulty settings. The Jedi games in particular are much more demanding on higher settings. There is no shame in lowering the difficulty to enjoy the story.
- Assuming you need to know the films. All five games explain their setting well enough, though film knowledge adds to the fun.
Where to Go After Your First Game
Once you know what you like, the next step is usually obvious. Fans of Fallen Order should play Survivor and then try The Force Unleashed for an older, more over-the-top take on Force powers. Outlaws fans might enjoy the bounty-hunting action of Star Wars: Bounty Hunter or the squad tactics of Republic Commando. Squadrons players can explore the classic X-Wing and TIE Fighter games, which are available on PC. KOTOR fans should go straight to Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Obsidian’s darker sequel.
Battlefront II players looking for more large-scale action can try the Classic Collection, or experiment with strategy through older titles such as Star Wars: Empire at War.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the single best first Star Wars game?
For most people, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. It combines a self-contained story, lightsaber combat and adjustable difficulty, and it leads directly into a sequel.
Do I need to play these in any particular order?
No. Only the two Jedi games are directly connected. The others are independent stories in different eras.
Are Legends games still worth playing?
Yes. The Legends label only means the stories are not part of today’s official continuity. KOTOR is a Legends game and still one of the most celebrated Star Wars experiences ever made.
