Reviews for the initial launch of the game in 2003 were mostly positive. The game was praised for its lush graphics, liberal use of the movie soundtracks, massive world size, character customization, creative creature ecology, complex skill system, player economy interdependencies and its sandbox approach. Reviewers criticized the overwhelming complexity of the game, PVP/PVE combat imbalances of the professions, bugginess and lack of quest content. The reviews for the first expansion, Jump To Lightspeed, praised the new space combat but criticized the ground game for its lack of sufficient improvement. The reviews for the second expansion, Rage Of The Wookiees lauded the new quest content for current subscribers but lamented the combat gameplay updates and the continued bugginess of the game.
Players who wished to play a Jedi character had to first unlock their Jedi slot by fulfilling an unknown list of criteria. The first player unlocked their 'Jedi slot' on 7 November 2003, four months after the release of the game. Media outlets and players criticized SOE for the substantial time commitment to unlock a Jedi, penalties for in-game death of a Jedi character which was permanent after three deaths, and monotonous game play required to acquire the Jedi character. Developers responded by changing the penalty for death to skill loss in January 2004 and creating a quest system to unlock the character.In November 2005, Jedi was changed to a starting profession and all players were allow to play as one.
Gameplay mechanics for combat and armor/weapon systems received a major update on 27 April 2005 when SOE released the "Combat Upgrade" (abbreviated as CU). Media outlets criticized the changes and cancellations temporarily rose,although subscriber numbers gradually grew back for the next seven months, hitting a peak around October 2005.
Another major update called the "New Game Enhancements" (abbreviated as NGE) was implemented on 15 November 2005 and became available in retail on 22 November 2005 as the Star Wars Galaxies: Starter Kit. Major changes included the reduction and simplification of professions, simplification of gameplay mechanics, and Jedi becoming a starting profession. Media outlets such as CBS News, New York Times, New York Post and Wired Magazine criticized the reduced depth and complexity of the game.but John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment, defended the decision claiming it necessary to revamp the game in order to reverse the deterioration they were seeing in the subscriber base. SOE offered refunds on the Trials of Obi-Wan expansion due to it being released two days before the NGE was implemented.The development team affirmed this was their desired direction for the game and that they would modifying parameters to address player's concerns.Features such as expertise trees were later added to the game to add complexity and differentiation to characters. After the announcement that SOE had acquired the game Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, Smedley addressed that game's players about the perceived threat of major changes to the game:
We've learned a thing or two with our experiences with the NGE and don't plan on repeating mistakes from the past and not listening to the players.
¡ªJohn Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment
Subscriber numbers were originally expected to exceed 1,000,000. In August 2005, SOE reported that they had sold 1,000,000 boxed copies of the game.In early 2006, unconfirmed reports showed that only 10,363 subscribers were playing on a particular Friday night, but Smedley, denied that subscriptions had fallen this low.