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- "I'd love to talk about music the whole time, but I know you guys wanna hear about my life here in the Arena. Well, tell you what, when I first arrived here, everyone avoided me like the rakghoul plague."
- ―Rieve
The rakghoul plague was a plague that existed in the galaxy.[1] In 9 ABY,[2] the human Hunter Rieve[3] mentioned the rakghoul plague as an analogy for herself when she first joined[1] the Grand Arena[3] and how people avoided her initially.[1]
Behind the scenes
The rakghoul plague in Star Wars Legends
The rakghoul plague was introduced in the current Star Wars canon via the video game Star Wars: Hunters, which was developed by NaturalMotion's BossAlien[3] and initially published by Zynga on November 16, 2021, as a soft launch[4] before the global release on June 4, 2024.[5] The game was later shut down on October 1, 2025.[6] The mention of the plague was included in a quote as part of the "Rieve Mastery II" questline.[1]
Prior to its proper canon introduction, the rakghoul plague was mentioned exclusively in the German novelization of the audio drama Dooku: Jedi Lost,[7] published on September 20, 2021,[8] which deviates from its source material.[7] According to Senior Star Wars Lore Advisor Leland Chee,[9] the German novelization most likely never reached the team for review as Chee was never made aware of it.[10]
In the Star Wars Legends continuity, the plague first appeared in the 2003 BioWare video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, where it was identified as the rakghoul disease.[11] It was later identified as the rakghoul plague in the 2011 BioWare video game Star Wars: The Old Republic.[12]
Appearances
- Star Wars: Hunters (First canonically mentioned)
Non-canon appearances
- Dooku: Jedi Lost German novelization (First mentioned)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
Star Wars: Hunters — Story: "Rieve Mastery II"
- ↑
Hunters Goes Galactic! on Arena News (original site is defunct) establishes that Star Wars: Hunters begins when the Grand Arena partnered with the Outer Rim Sports Network, dated to 9 ABY in Star Wars: Timelines.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Star Wars: Hunters
- ↑
Zynga Star Wars (@ZyngaStarWars) on Twitter (post on November 16, 2021): "We are excited to announce Star Wars: Hunters is now entering soft launch and is available on Android for players in India, Philippines, Malaysia & Indonesia." (original link is obsolete) (screenshot)
- ↑
Star Wars: Hunters Launch Date Reveal Trailer on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- ↑ Sunset on Vespaara on Star Wars: Hunters' official website (original site is defunct)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Dooku: Jedi Lost German novelization
- ↑ Star Wars™ Dooku - Der verlorene Jedi on Penguin Books' official German website (September 20, 2021) (backup link)
- ↑ Keeper of the Holocron (@holocronkeeper.bsky.social) on Bluesky (post) (backup link) (screenshot)
- ↑ Leland Chee (@.holocronkeeper) in Wookieepedia's Discord server (April 9, 2025): "First I've heard of it. I doubt it came to our team for review." (message link) (screenshot) (In response to: "@HolocronKeeper Not sure if it is something your [sic] allowed to answer, but are you aware of the german novelization of [[Dooku: Jedi Lost]] and its canonicity? I'm asking due to the confusion the book has somewhat caused canon wise due to its supposed deviation from the source material and exclusive recanonization to several Legends subjects including [[Sorzus Syn]], [[rakghoul plague]], and the [[Muur Talisman]].")
- ↑ Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- ↑ Star Wars: The Old Republic — Codex: "Evolved Rakghoul Plague"
