Video games are the only reason to be excited for Star Wars in 2026

Between Star Wars: Galactic Racer and Zero Company, video games have become the most promising reason to stay invested in the galaxy far, far away.

Ever since Star Wars was first released in 1977, its existence as a franchise has been closely entwined with video games. It started with 1982’s The Empire Strikes Back tie-in on the Atari 2600, and the Star Wars arcade game a year later, and ever since then there’s been a steady stream of action games, flight sims, strategy titles, and much more.

Fast forward to 2026, and Star Wars as a franchise is in a strange place. Enthusiasm for new movies has never felt lower, with The Mandalorian And Grogu tracking lower than Solo: A Star Wars Story in early box office projections. Similarly, on the TV side of things, after the magnificence of Andor, the prospect of The Mandalorian season four or Ahsoka season two feels like a continuation of the uninspired, tired trudgery which eroded all the enthusiasm to begin with.

On a personal level, I’ve been largely checked out of Star Wars since (shudder) Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, my prequel nostalgia has been resurrected into a pedal-pushing overdrive by the thrumming engines of Sebulba’s pod racer.

Aside from Mina The Hollower and the inevitable GTA 6 hurricane, few games this year are instilling as much gut-level anticipation for me as Star Wars: Galactic Racer. It’s combining the best thing about Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, a sacred text for my younger self, and a longing yearn for another racer with the thumping polish of Burnout 3: Takedown.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is from Fuse Games, a studio founded by former Criterion leads who worked on Burnout. We’ve only seen brief trailers, but between the electrifying engine sound effects, and the first person perspective of weaving around the Mos Eisley canyons in modern graphical glory, it’s single-handedly thundered Star Wars back into my life, more than anything this decade.

At a time when Nintendo and Sony are neglecting their futuristic racers, it could also double as a thirst quencher amid the F-Zero and Wipeout drought.

On a broader level, the future pipeline of Star Wars video games is looking surprisingly strong. Turn-based tactics title Star Wars Zero Company, also set to be released later this year, might just fill the void for abandoned XCOM heads. Last year, a spiritual successor to Knights Of The Old Republic was announced too, from the director behind Mass Effect.

If you zoom out even further, we also know Respawn is cooking up a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which is one of the best Star Wars games ever made.

Other projects don’t feel quite as rock solid, such as Star Wars Eclipse from Heavy Rain makers Quantic Dream and the long-delayed remake of Knights Of The Old Republic, but when combined into the overall picture, it’s still a stacked line-up which holds more creative promise than the franchise’s cinematic arm.

Star Wars doesn’t feel like the only legacy IP being recharged via the video games. Harry Potter might as well have been cast into the cupboard under the stairs again if it weren’t for Hogwarts Legacy. Meanwhile, the output of Marvel Games – between Spider-Man 2, Midnight Suns, Marvel Rivals, and Marvel Cosmic Invasion – might not have all been financially lucrative, but they’ve generated more goodwill recently than the MCU.

In the case of Star Wars though, the lack of appetite for its Hollywood future (unless Ryan Gosling’s Starfighter in 2027 can turn things around) could see games playing a larger role in the overall trajectory of the franchise.

A Cal Kestis spin-off on Disney+? When a single episode of the animated anthology Star Wars: Visions can spore a dedicated spin-off series, it doesn’t feel like a ludicrous proposition. Especially as Obi-Wan Kenobi already ripped off one of the first game’s main settings.

When combined with the success of game adaptations in movies and TV, there’s a sense the medium’s cache is shifting under the eyes of executives who may previously have viewed games as a mere tool for brand extension and a quick cash-in.

With the gaming line-up Star Wars has right now, next to The Mandalorian And Grogu, I think there’s little question of who is truly running the show in 2026.

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