Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is a
firstFirst-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
and
third-person shooterThird-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
action gameAction game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
set in the
Star WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
universe. It was developed by
Raven SoftwareRaven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them...
and published, distributed and marketed by
LucasArtsLucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
in
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and by
ActivisionActivision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
in the rest of the world. Jedi Academy was released in September 2003 and received positive reviews, achieving an 81% aggregate score. In September 2009, the game was re-released along with its 3 predecessors through Steam and
Direct2DriveDirect2Drive is an online game store offering PC videogames via direct download. On May 25, 2011, Gamefly acquired Direct2Drive from IGN Entertainment Group .- Competition with Steam :...
.
Jedi Academy is powered by the same version of the Quake III: Team Arena engine used in its predecessor,
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi OutcastStar Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, often abbreviated JK2 or JO, is a first- and third-person action game developed by Raven Software and published by LucasArts and Activision. The PC version was released in March and the Mac OS X, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube versions were released in November...
, containing modifications to the Quake code to include
lightsaberA lightsaber is a fictional weapon in the Star Wars universe, a "laser sword." It consists of a polished metal hilt which projects a blade of light about 1.33 metres long. The lightsaber is the signature weapon of the Jedi order and their Sith counterparts, both of whom can use them for close...
combat.