Star Wars: Galactic Contention is relaunching this month in Unreal Engine 5
Star Wars: Galactic Contention returns this month, and the fan-made shooter based on The Clone Wars is looking much more ambitious than you might expect.
The popular full conversion of the Squad game is getting ready to relaunch with version 9.0 on July 31, 2026, which will bring the project to the Unreal Engine 5 with improved graphics, new changes, maps and other details yet to come. On the Steam Workshop page, the mod is currently listed asCOMING OUT JULY 31, 2026and is described as a complete conversion ofSquadset during the Clone Wars.
The new trailer also shows work on updating the mod in Unreal Engine 5: clone troopers, battle droids, vehicles, blaster fire and large-scale chaos on the battlefield look sharper than ever.
Fan-created Clone Wars battlefield
For those unfamiliar, Galactic Contention is not an official Star Wars game.
This is a fan-made modification that completely changes the gameplay of Squad, a tactical military shooter built on cooperation, teamwork, missions, vehicles and large maps.
Now imagine that this structure was restored during the Clone Wars.
Clone soldiers. Separatist battle droids . Walkers. Combat helicopters. Blaster fire. Coordination of actions on the battlefield. Large-scalemilitary fantasy based on the Star Wars universe, to which official gameshave not returned in full for many years.
That's the appeal.
This is not an attempt to create the illusion of the power of the Jedi.It's an attempt to make you feel like you're one of the soldiers in a much larger war.
Why Unreal Engine 5 is important
The move to Unreal Engine 5 significantly improves the visuals of Galactic Contention .
The trailer shows improved lighting, atmosphere and scale, bringing the mod closer to the kind of modern Star Wars combat that many players have been waiting for since the heyday of Battlefront. This is still a modification, so expectations must remain realistic. Large community projects can be challenging, and large restarts can always have their downsides.
Но как заявление о намерениях, это трудно игнорировать.
Moreover, games based on the Star Wars universe have always been at their best when they covered different genres. RPGs, shooters, strategy games, racing games, MMOs, LEGO games, arcade machines and strange experiments - they all find their place in the galaxy. Our complete list of all Star Wars games ever made clearly demonstrates this.
Galactic Contention fits perfectly into this tradition, even though it is a fan game.
Battlefront fans should take note.
There are obvious comparisons to Battlefront, but Galactic Contention is aiming for a completely different experience.
While Battlefront is typically more cinematic and accessible, Squad is a slower, more tactical mode that relies more heavily on team play. This makes Galactic Contention feel less like a theme park battle and more like a chaotic military operation using clone armor.
This is probably why this mod has such a devoted audience.
Star Wars fans still want big battles.They still need infantry, equipment, missions and a sense that the war is more than just a one-hero standoff. We recently looked back at how Battlefront's Offline Skirmish mode gave solo players what they'd been waiting for, and the appetites are similar here.
Players want more ways to immerse themselves in Star Wars battles.
Don't just watch them.
Important month for the mod scene
Star Wars: Galactic Contention Version 9.0 is currently scheduled for release on July 31, 2026, with more details on the patch expected prior to launch.
This is not an official Lucasfilm Games release. This is not a finalized boxed product. This is still a fan modification created based on Squad.
But that’s what makes it interesting.
Sometimes the most exciting Star Wars gaming news are not the ones that are heavily promoted, like three editions and a cinematic trailer.
Sometimes it's a group of fans bringing The Clone Wars to Unreal Engine 5 because no one else is doing a similar version of this fantasy story.