For most people the answer is SWG Legends, the NGE server, because it is the busiest server we could measure and it patched today. If you want the 2003 sandbox instead, pick SWG Infinity, or the newer Outer Rim if you would rather have a faster grind and a fresh community. Pick SWG Restoration only if the Combat Upgrade rules are the specific thing you miss. SWGEmu, the project that started all of this, has announced it is winding down, so we would not start a new character there.
Our Sep 16 guide covers the three eras and the install steps. This one goes further on the choice itself: what each server publishes about its population, how recently it shipped a patch, what its rules allow, and what the community has argued about this year. Everything below was read from each server's own pages on October 9 unless we say otherwise.
The six servers, side by side
| Server | Era | Original discs? | Players, as the server reports them | Latest update we found | Extra accounts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWG Legends | NGE | No | 765 online, 1,375 unique accounts in 24 hours (live counter) | Oct 9, 2026 | One per person; household exceptions |
| SWG Infinity | Pre-CU | No | "800+ weekly players" (its claim, no live count) | Apr 9, 2026 (site's patch archive) | One per person; 3 characters online at once |
| The Outer Rim | Pre-CU, custom content | No | 238 online, 534 registered accounts (live counter) | Oct 7, 2026 | One per person unless approved; 3 online at once |
| SWG Restoration | NGE content, Combat Upgrade rules | No | No count published | Oct 5, 2026 | No approval needed; up to 6 per location |
| SWG Awakening | Pre-CU | Yes | No count published | Oct 5, 2026 | Not checked |
| SWGEmu (Finalizer) | Pre-CU | Yes | No count we could reach | Code changes Oct 1, 2026 | Not checked |
All six are free. Every one of them runs on donations.
How to read the population numbers
Only two servers put a live number on their front page: Legends and The Outer Rim. Infinity gives a round weekly figure with no counter behind it. Restoration, Awakening and SWGEmu publish nothing we could check.
Discord sizes are not player counts. Legends advertises "5,000+ players in the cantina," which counts its social channels. A number like that tells you how many people joined a chat at some point, and nothing about who logs in on a Tuesday night. We left them out of the table on purpose.
SWG Legends: the safe pick
Legends runs what its play page calls "the game's final live version (the NGE)," on one server, Omega. At about 3:50pm Central on October 9, its counter showed 765 players online and 1,375 unique accounts in the last 24 hours. No other server here publishes a figure that size.
It is also clearly alive. The October development update went live the same day we checked, with the Galactic Moon Festival, new Bespin content, PvP changes and class balance for Bounty Hunter, Jedi and Commando. Bespin is the big draw: Legends built it from scratch long after the 2011 shutdown and bills it as exclusive.
On money, Legends lists about $1,420 a month in running costs and says plainly that donations buy nothing in game. Its wiki says one account per person, with exceptions for households.
The thing to know: in August, Legends told players that a moderator of the SWG subreddit had decrypted its client files and offered its custom content, Bespin included, to other servers. Massively Overpowered reported the full story; Legends said no player data was touched. It does not change what you play today, but it shows how personal the rivalries between these projects run.
SWG Infinity: the established pre-CU sandbox
Infinity is the pre-CU server for people who want skill boxes, a 250-point character template and a Jedi you have to unlock. It runs on SWGEmu's code, has been around since 2017, and needs no discs.
Two caveats. Its "800+ weekly players" is a claim with nothing published behind it, and its own patch archive lists 18 patches from March to April 2026 and nothing newer, even though its comparison page promises weekly patches. The March burst was the Jump to Lightspeed release (2.0.108 on March 13), and the site says space combat zones are "on track for Fall 2026." We could not confirm whether patches since April have gone out somewhere other than the site.
The rules are strict and clear: one account per person, up to seven characters with three online at once, no bots, and in-game macros only while you are at the keyboard. It is Windows only, and its FAQ says Wine, Proton and CrossOver will not run it.
The Outer Rim: the new pre-CU server
The Outer Rim opened in July and is moving fast. Its patch notes show five updates between September 28 and October 7, covering world bosses, new species, crafting factories and a Jedi pass, and Massively Overpowered reports the team is building Geonosis as a full new planet. At about 3:55pm Central its counter read 238 online from 534 registered accounts.
It runs 5x regular XP and 3x Jedi XP, allows six characters with three online at a time, and holds one account per person unless an admin approves more. The launcher installs everything in about 7GB, with no discs. Pick it if you want pre-CU without a thousand-hour grind and like being early on a server. It is three months old, so give it less trust than the others with your hundred hours.
SWG Restoration: the Combat Upgrade server
Restoration describes its combat as "reminiscent of the Combat Upgrade, combined with all NGE content and expansions," and Jump to Lightspeed is included. Its donate page says it is a registered US 501(c)(3) non-profit.
It patches steadily: hotfix 1.4.1.4 for its own Moon Festival landed October 5, with developer diaries on housing, player cities and wilderness content through September. It publishes no player count.
Its account policy is the loosest of the six. You do not need approval for multiple accounts, up to six can play from one location, and VPNs are banned. If you like running a crafter or entertainer alongside your main, that matters.
Worth knowing: in 2024, Restoration confirmed a leaked plan to consider perks for a $9.99 monthly subscription. Today its donate page offers a monthly donation option, says donating gives no tangible benefits, and lists two donor badges as "coming soon." The monthly goal is $2,500, and it was 25% funded for October when we looked.
SWG Awakening: pre-CU, but bring your discs
Awakening is a long-running pre-CU server on SWGEmu's code with its own Jedi unlock system. Unlike the others built on that code, it requires an original client: An Empire Divided, The Total Experience or The Complete Online Adventures. Patch 10.0.9 went live October 5.
It is the smallest operation here by its own books. The balance sheet it posted on September 14 shows $150 from eight donations against $318 in expenses, and a move to new server hardware that has been under way since March. Small budgets are normal in this scene; keep an eye on its announcements before you commit.
SWGEmu: the original project, now winding down
SWGEmu rebuilt the Galaxies server from scratch and still runs Finalizer for owners of the original discs. Its site sits behind a bot check we could not pass, so we could not read its forums today. Its public source code had changes merged as recently as October 1.
What changes the advice: in April 2025, SWGEmu declared its 1.0 goal met and announced a scale-down. The project will be archived, it will eventually stop taking donations, and Finalizer is planned to close about a year after a new successor server launches. We found no announced date for that successor. Its older Basilisk server went offline in November 2022.
Which one is for you
You want launch-era Galaxies, 2003 to 2005. Infinity, for the bigger and older community. If its quiet patch archive worries you, The Outer Rim gives you the same pre-CU systems at 5x XP with a team shipping weekly. Own the discs and want an older community? Awakening.
You played the NGE and that is the game you remember. Legends. It has the most players we could verify, the most new content, and nothing else here runs the NGE as it shipped.
You want something that never existed on live servers. Restoration, for CU-era combat on top of every later planet and expansion. The Outer Rim, for pre-CU with planets SOE never made.
You mostly play solo. Legends, again. In our view the NGE is the easiest version of the game to play alone, and a busy server keeps the bazaar stocked when you need gear. On a pre-CU server, The Outer Rim's 5x XP does the most to keep a solo grind reasonable.
Is any of this legal?
None of these servers is licensed. Legends, Restoration, Infinity and Awakening all say on their own sites that they are not affiliated with or endorsed by Lucasfilm (Restoration and Awakening add Disney and Daybreak, the company Sony Online Entertainment became). Sony shut the official game down at the end of 2011. The pre-CU servers run on code SWGEmu rebuilt from scratch; Massively Overpowered reports that the NGE servers run on source code that leaked from SOE. We found no public statement from Daybreak or Lucasfilm on any of them, and Massively Overpowered notes that Disney has not stepped in through the emulators' long history. None of this is legal advice. The practical risk to you is a server you love closing.
If you would rather put your hours into an official Star Wars MMO, here is our take on whether SWTOR is worth playing free. For where Galaxies sits among everything else, see every Star Wars game in order and the Galaxies hub.
The details
- Read October 9, 2026, mid-afternoon Central: Legends' home, play, donate and October update pages; Infinity's FAQ, play, rules, comparison and 2026 patch archive; The Outer Rim's portal, connection guide, rules and patch notes; Restoration's about, play, news, donate and multiple account pages; Awakening's portal. Population figures are each server's own live counters at the moment we looked, and they move all day.
- Legends' account rule comes from its wiki, last edited in 2022. SWGEmu's disc requirement is from its forum FAQ as read for our September guide; we could not re-check it today.
- SWGEmu's 2025 plans, Restoration's 2024 subscription leak, the August Legends incident and The Outer Rim's July launch are as reported by Massively Overpowered, linked above.
- We have not played on these servers this month. Anything that changes, we will correct here, visibly.
