Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
You build your own character and your own lightsaber, and you can run dual blades or a saberstaff. Lighter on story than Jedi Outcast and much heavier on what people actually wanted from it. The PC scene never died: Movie Battles II alone has kept servers busy for twenty years. Ten dollars on Steam and GOG; the PS4 and Switch ports cost more.
- Released
- 2003
- Developer
- Raven Software
- Genre
- Shooter
- Platforms
- PCXboxSwitch
Playing it today
The best lightsaber sandbox of its era, and it still plays well. You build your own Jedi and your own saber, then graduate to dual blades or a saberstaff, and the saber fighting has more to it than most Star Wars games since. The story is thin next to Jedi Outcast. Multiplayer is why people still install it.
On PC, pair a store copy with OpenJK, the community-maintained engine for the game. Its own README rates Jedi Academy single-player and multiplayer as stable, and it runs on current Windows, macOS and Linux. One stock fix worth knowing: the game plays sound at half quality by default, and the console command s_kHz 44 restores it. Online, the community server list is still active, with Movie Battles II as the biggest draw.
Skip it if 2003 level design and a paper-thin plot will bother you. If you want one old Jedi game for the saber fighting, make it this one.
Our Jedi Outcast setup guide, with the OpenJK notes that cover Academy →
Where to play it
On sale today · checked September 24, 2026
Either store works at the same $9.99, and both copies work with OpenJK. GOG gets the nod for its offline installer.
Aspyr's 2020 port is on PS4 and Switch with online multiplayer for up to 16 players. The PlayStation Store lists it at $14.99 and the Nintendo eShop at $19.99; online play needs PS Plus or Nintendo Switch Online.
List prices in USD. Stores change prices and listings; check before you buy. Where to buy old Star Wars games
Games like Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
- Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast2002 · Raven Software · Shooter
- Star Wars: Dark Forces1995 · LucasArts · Shooter
- Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II1997 · LucasArts · Shooter
- Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith1998 · LucasArts · Shooter
- Star Wars: Battlefront2004 · Pandemic Studios · Shooter
- Republic Commando2005 · LucasArts · Shooter
Sources: Steam store page; GOG store page; PlayStation Store; Nintendo eShop; PCGamingWiki; OpenJK README on GitHub; JKHub: Jedi Academy launches on PS4 and Switch.