It was always going to happen, wasn’t it? From the very moment Todd Howard stepped onto a stage and told us we’d have over 1,000 planets to explore in Starfield, the collective hive mind of the internet didn’t think about NASA-punk aesthetics or the United Colonies. We thought about X-Wings. We thought about Tatooine. We thought about the inevitable moment someone would finally give us the open-galaxy Star Wars RPG we’ve been craving since Knights of the Old Republic.
Enter Star Wars Genesis.
If you haven’t been keeping tabs on the Starfield modding scene, you might have missed this absolute behemoth. While many modders were busy fixing UI or adding better textures for space potatoes, the team behind Genesis looked at Bethesda’s massive sandbox and decided it needed a coat of paint—specifically, a coat of “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.”
What exactly is Star Wars Genesis?
To call Genesis a “mod” feels like calling the Death Star a “light fixture.” It is a Total Conversion. For those not fluent in nerd-speak, that means the goal isn’t just to add a few lightsabers and call it a day. The ambition here is to fundamentally rewrite the DNA of Starfield until it’s unrecognizable from its original Settled Systems roots.
We’re talking about a complete overhaul of the factions, the gear, the NPCs, and the atmosphere. Gone are the UC Vanguard and the Freestar Collective. In their place, you’ll find the iron grip of the Galactic Empire and the scrappy, desperate resistance of the Rebel Alliance.
The “Total” in Total Conversion
What makes Genesis stand out—and why it’s currently the talk of the Nexus—is the sheer scale of the replacement.
- The Look and Feel: The mod replaces hundreds of assets. You’ll see Stormtroopers patrolling cities instead of generic guards. You’ll see Trandoshans, Rodians, and Twi’leks walking the streets. The visual consistency is actually pretty staggering; it doesn’t feel like a janky “modded” game where things clash. It feels cohesive.
- The Arsenal: Let’s be real: we’re all here for the blasters. Genesis integrates high-quality models for iconic weaponry. Whether you want to carry an E-11 blaster rifle or something a bit more “bounty hunter chic,” the mod delivers. And yes, the sounds are there too. That distinctive pew-pew changes the entire vibe of a firefight.
- The Ships: This is where Starfield’s engine really shines for a Star Wars setting. The ship-builder was practically begging for this. Genesis brings in ship parts and presets that let you fly everything from a Corellian YT-1300 to a TIE Interceptor.
- The Yuuzhan Vong: If you thought this mod only scratched the surface with the Original Trilogy, think again. The team went deep into the “Legends” lore by including the Yuuzhan Vong. For the uninitiated, these are the terrifying, organic-tech-using invaders from outside the known galaxy who gave the New Republic a run for its money in the expanded universe novels. Seeing their bio-organic aesthetic and unique weaponry within Starfield’s engine is a total trip. It adds a layer of cosmic horror and unpredictability to your exploration that you just don’t get with standard Stormtroopers. It’s a clear signal that Genesis is a love letter to the deepest corners of the Star Wars mythos.
The Magic of the Starfield Engine
Why does Star Wars Genesis work so well? It’s because Starfield and Star Wars share a specific kind of “lived-in” sci-fi DNA. Bethesda’s “NASA-punk” style is all about buttons, switches, and bulky tech. While Star Wars is more “used future,” the transition between the two is surprisingly seamless.
When you’re walking through a dusty outpost on a remote moon in Genesis, the lighting and the clutter of the Starfield engine make it feel like a deleted scene from The Mandalorian. The procedural generation of planets actually works in favor of a Star Wars conversion. The galaxy feels appropriately huge, lonely, and dangerous.
It’s a Journey, Not a Destination
Now, a quick reality check: Genesis is a work in progress. Total conversions are notorious for being “perpetually in beta,” and that’s the case here. You’re going to run into bugs. You might see a random NPC who still thinks they’re in New Atlantis talking about Terrormorphs while wearing a Boba Fett helmet.
But that’s part of the charm. The community around Genesis is incredibly active, and the mod is built on a “collection” philosophy. It brings together the best work of dozens of different modders—people who have spent hundreds of hours perfecting the curve of a Stormtrooper’s pauldron or the hum of a lightsaber—and packages them into a singular, playable vision.
Why You Should Care (Even If You Liked Vanilla Starfield)
I know there are plenty of people who genuinely enjoyed the original Starfield lore. I’m one of them! But there is something undeniably electric about seeing a Star Destroyer hanging in the orbit of a planet you just discovered.
Star Wars Genesis transforms the game from a slow-burn exploration of “What’s out there?” into a high-stakes space opera. The combat feels more frantic when you’re being chased by the Empire. The roleplaying feels more directed. Suddenly, you aren’t just a “Dusty” looking for artifacts; you’re a smuggler trying to outrun a blockade.
How to Get Started
If you’re looking to jump in, you’ll want to head over to the mods official site. Be warned: this isn’t a “click one button and you’re done” kind of deal. Because it’s a total conversion, it requires a fair bit of setup, and you’ll definitely want to use a mod manager like Vortex or Mod Organizer 2.
The mod is often distributed as a “Collection”. It means the creators have already done the heavy lifting of ensuring that the 200+ individual mods required to make this work won’t make your PC explode (metaphorically speaking).
Genesis turns Starfield into the platform it was always meant to be: a foundational engine for whatever sci-fi fantasy we want to live out.
Whether you’re a die-hard Imperial loyalist or Rebel scum, Genesis is currently the closest we’ve ever come to a truly infinite Star Wars universe. It’s ambitious, it’s messy, and it’s absolutely glorious.
