A wave of indie Star Fox games is reviving the on-rails arcade space shooter, with small studios stepping in to fill a gap Nintendo left after years without an all-new entry in the series. Even with a fresh Star Fox 64 remake on the Switch 2, the franchise has not seen a brand-new installment since Star Fox Zero on the Wii U, and indie creators are racing to plug the void.
The indie Star Fox games chasing that feeling
Several projects are leading the revival, each drawing on memories of skimming the water of Corneria. Notably, one is led by a developer with direct lineage to the original Nintendo series.
- Ex-Zodiac by Ben Hickling, a deliberately responsive take on the classic formula.
- Whisker Squadron: Survivor by Flippfly, offering vaporwave-flavored cat pilots.
- Rogue Eclipse by Huskrafts, blending Star Fox with Armored Core, Gundam, and Returnal.
- Wild Blue Skies by Chuhai Labs, founded by former Star Fox programmer Giles Goddard.
Goddard suggests the genre’s long absence is part of its appeal. “I think people are starved of originality more than any particular style or genre of game,” he told The Verge, arguing players are drawn to these throwbacks precisely because they so rarely see them anymore. For more on the studios reviving classic genres, see our gaming coverage.
Risk-averse publishers and crowdfunding
Getting these games funded has been the hard part. Huskrafts’ Husban Siddiqi says most labels he pitched Rogue Eclipse to insisted the genre was dead — an experience echoed by Flippfly’s Aaron San Filippo, who heard publishers could not see a big enough market to justify the budget.
Unable to win over publishers, several developers turned to crowdfunding, following revival success stories like Hollow Knight, Shovel Knight, and Undertale. The risk is real: in February 2025, Flippfly let its development team go for lack of funding, shelving a more ambitious follow-up. Siddiqi points to 2019’s Ace Combat 7 as proof the audience exists, though an existing audience never guarantees a sale.
Why publishers stayed away
The on-rails shooter is a hard pitch in a market chasing live-service scale and open worlds. A tightly scripted, mission-length arcade game offers little room for monetization hooks, which helps explain why studios kept hearing the genre was commercially dead even as fans clearly wanted it back.
Memory versus modern play
Developers are balancing nostalgia against playability. Hickling admits Ex-Zodiac is essentially his version of how he remembers Star Fox, made snappier than the original actually was, while Goddard warns that “blind affection for the past” can drag in unnecessary baggage. The goal is to capture the feeling players remember, not to faithfully recreate dated friction.
Goddard ties the trend to a generational shift: just as the 2010s produced 8- and 16-bit throwbacks, the kids who grew up in the 3D era are now becoming developers themselves and building the games they remember. If the pattern holds, the on-rails shooter may be only the first 3D-era genre to get an indie second life. For verdicts on the standouts, keep an eye on our reviews.
What the revival means for players
For fans, the practical upshot is that the experience Nintendo has left dormant is now available from several directions at once, each with its own spin. Ex-Zodiac leans purist, Whisker Squadron adds roguelike runs, and Rogue Eclipse bolts on mech-game depth, so the “Star Fox itch” can be scratched in more than one way. It also shifts pressure back onto Nintendo: if small teams can keep the formula alive on crowdfunding budgets, the absence of a first-party entry starts to look like a choice rather than a market verdict.
Frequently asked questions
When was the last new Star Fox game?
The last brand-new entry was Star Fox Zero on the Wii U. A Star Fox 64 remake exists on Switch 2, but it is not an all-new installment, which is the gap these indie titles are filling.
Which indie game has the closest ties to Star Fox?
Wild Blue Skies, made by Chuhai Labs, which was founded by Giles Goddard — a former programmer on the original Star Fox.
