Star Wars: Empire at War looks new again thanks to this mod

Star Wars: Empire at War, one of the best space games on PC, has never looked this good before. The Empire at War Remake mod has been around for years but the latest incarnation is especially swish, as you can see from the fancy Star Destroyer battle above.

“This mod catapults Empire at War into 2018,” reads its ModDB summary. “It maintains the game's design philosophy, while adding new units, better graphics and deeper gameplay.”

It’s been updated a lot this year. The mod’s creator, Jeroenimo, has big plans. They want to turn the galaxy into a “varied and alive ecosystem”. The three main factions—Rebellion, Empire and Underworld—have been reworked, while new factions like the Mandalorians and Clone War Separatists have been thrown into the mix. The Vong are in the works, too.

A ‘Lite’ version of the mod is available at the moment. From now on, though, instead of incremental updates, Jeroenimo plans on waiting until the mod is fully functional and feature complete.

This is also a good excuse to remember the time that Andy pitted Star Wars against Star Trek in Star Wars: Empire at War. A proper battle of the franchises.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.