ScummVM has launched public testing for support of LucasArts' rail shooters Star Wars: Rebel Assault (1993) and Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire (1995) in its daily builds, the project announced via Twitter/X and an accompanying blog post.
The move brings two FMV-heavy, CD-ROM-era Star Wars titles into ScummVM's compatibility efforts, with developers asking players to test the daily builds and report issues prior to merging the work into the main release.
Background and supported releases
Rebel Assault, released in 1993, was notable as LucasArts' first title distributed exclusively on CD-ROM and used full-motion video (FMV) cutscenes and licensed music from the films.
Players assume the role of Rookie One and pilot a variety of vehicles — from X-Wings to T-47 airspeeders — across missions that recreate major Star Wars set pieces.
Its 1995 sequel, The Hidden Empire, continues Rookie One's story in the Dreighton Nebula and incorporated live-action footage of actors between missions, marking some of the first new Star Wars footage filmed since the 1983 release of Return of the Jedi.
According to ScummVM's communications, the public test covers multiple releases of Rebel Assault, including several DOS builds, the Macintosh edition, the 3DO release, and Sega CD versions.
Rebel Assault II support in the daily builds includes the DOS/Windows releases and is available in multiple languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Japanese.
The ScummVM team noted that the PlayStation version of Rebel Assault II is still a work in progress and is not part of this testing round.
Controls, legal notes, and platform context
The ScummVM reimplementation reportedly adds more responsive input handling.
The developers say these control improvements are designed to address a longstanding criticism of the original releases and make the games easier to play on modern hardware.
Testers should be aware that ScummVM requires users to provide their own original game files; the project does not distribute commercial game data.
While ScummVM focuses on compatibility for PC and common desktop/mobile platforms, making ScummVM-based ports available on consoles or digital storefronts such as the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch would require separate packaging and formal distribution.
For now, interested players can download the daily builds from ScummVM's website, test the Rebel Assault entries, and provide feedback to the development team through the channels detailed in the project's blog post.
The move brings two FMV-heavy, CD-ROM-era Star Wars titles into ScummVM's compatibility efforts, with developers asking players to test the daily builds and report issues prior to merging the work into the main release.
Background and supported releases
Rebel Assault, released in 1993, was notable as LucasArts' first title distributed exclusively on CD-ROM and used full-motion video (FMV) cutscenes and licensed music from the films.
Players assume the role of Rookie One and pilot a variety of vehicles — from X-Wings to T-47 airspeeders — across missions that recreate major Star Wars set pieces.
Its 1995 sequel, The Hidden Empire, continues Rookie One's story in the Dreighton Nebula and incorporated live-action footage of actors between missions, marking some of the first new Star Wars footage filmed since the 1983 release of Return of the Jedi.
According to ScummVM's communications, the public test covers multiple releases of Rebel Assault, including several DOS builds, the Macintosh edition, the 3DO release, and Sega CD versions.
Rebel Assault II support in the daily builds includes the DOS/Windows releases and is available in multiple languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Japanese.
The ScummVM team noted that the PlayStation version of Rebel Assault II is still a work in progress and is not part of this testing round.
Controls, legal notes, and platform context
The ScummVM reimplementation reportedly adds more responsive input handling.
The developers say these control improvements are designed to address a longstanding criticism of the original releases and make the games easier to play on modern hardware.
Testers should be aware that ScummVM requires users to provide their own original game files; the project does not distribute commercial game data.
While ScummVM focuses on compatibility for PC and common desktop/mobile platforms, making ScummVM-based ports available on consoles or digital storefronts such as the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch would require separate packaging and formal distribution.
For now, interested players can download the daily builds from ScummVM's website, test the Rebel Assault entries, and provide feedback to the development team through the channels detailed in the project's blog post.
