While Lucasfilm has moved on, the community hasn’t forgotten Star Wars: Republic Commando, a cult classic FPS that puts players in control of a squad of Clone Commandos. It is a title that many Star Wars fans have long since praised. It is also a host to community works, with a modding team looking to remaster the title with modern visuals.
Mod creator Automata posted the Star Wars: Republic Commando RTX mod on ModDB, and an early access demo for the mod was released on July 18th. The mod adds pathtracing to the game, providing responsive materials that interact with the lighting, as well as improved textures to give it a modern look. The demo currently consists of the Geonosis section from the original game and is available for free download.
Star Wars: Republic Commando Has An RTX Mod
And It Is More Than Just Raytracing
Showcased by DFClips on YouTube, viewers can easily see the impact that the new RTX features have added to Republic Commando. The pathtracing (aka raytracing) technology has made the lighting more interactive, and shadows have never looked better, imitating the lighting of many modern titles. The RTX name is somewhat deceptive, however, as the mod has done far more than just add pathtracing.
The models have been redone, textures have been updated, and the mod looks to be a complete remaster of the original commando classic. Thus far, it is still missing some UI updates to prevent texture stretching, but the vision for the full mod is clear. It makes everything feel more interactive and atmospheric, and while it is arguably too saturated, the finished version of the project is bound to look even better.
This Republic Commando Mod Is The Closest Thing To A Remaster
And RTX Mods Are Becoming Popular
With Star Wars not looking back much on its games and continually making new titles, it feels like an official remaster of any Star Wars game is nothing more than a pipe dream. The Knights of the Old Republic remake is seemingly on and off, and it’s doubtful that anything official will be done with Republic Commando. This mod is the closest thing players will get to a full remaster, and it looks awe-inspiring thus far.
Star Wars: Republic Commando runs on Unreal Engine 2, and it’s impressive what raytracing can do for a project to help breathe new life into it. While the gameplay will remain untouched, it helps the game keep its original charm. Should the modding project be completed, veteran players will get a remaster of a game they wanted more from, while new players can experience it for the first time without its dated visuals. It’s a mod well worth keeping an eye on.

Star Wars Republic Commando
- Released
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February 28, 2005
- ESRB
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T For Teen due to Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
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LucasArts
- Publisher(s)
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LucasArts, Aspyr, THQ Nordic
- Engine
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unreal engine 2, unreal engine 4
- Multiplayer
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Local Multiplayer