The Star Wars Galaxies release date was scheduled for April 15, 2003 but due to the need for more testing, the release date was pushed back to June 26, 2003. The official press release is below:

"Star Wars Galaxies is now entering the final phase of development, and everyone at LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment is pleased with the game's progress since the beta test program was initiated. We've received a good deal of constructive feedback and many positive suggestions that, if executed, will genuinely enhance gameplay for the hundreds of thousands of players who comprise the community.
To deliver the best possible massively multiplayer experience and ensure stability and breadth of content, LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment will delay the game's April 15 launch. This will enable us to invest more time into the beta program, and to solicit additional feedback from the tremendous fan base Star Wars Galaxies has already developed.

"In addition, we will not open phase three of the beta program until we feel the game is ready for a wider audience, which we anticipate will be within the next few weeks. A new release date for Star Wars Galaxies will be announced shortly after the beginning of beta three.

"We are sincerely grateful to the Star Wars Galaxies community for their tremendous support. We respectfully ask for their continued understanding and patience during these final few months leading up to the launch of what we believe will be one of the best MMOs to date."

Star Wars Galaxies did finally release on June 26, 2003 to the joy and woes of many avid gamers who had been waiting for the game's release. The launch of Star Wars Galaxies was a bit rough with traffic and lag so high that the servers had to be brought down until 11 am on June 27, 2003. The second day was just as worse with so many players trying to log-in that others couldn't get in. It was all smoothed out by the third day but it does prove the initial demand for the game was more than expected.

Today the game has over 275,000 registered players, making it one of the largest competitors in the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game) category.