A few days ago, you could pick up a physical copy of Star Wars Racer Revenge for the PlayStation 4 on eBay for about $20. Today, that same game is selling for $300 to $400, with listings climbing even higher. What changed? Did everyone suddenly remember this largely-forgotten 2002 racing game and decide they needed to own it? Nope. Word spread that the Limited Run Games release contains an exploit that lets you jailbreak the PlayStation 5, and now the entire jailbreaking community is scrambling to get their hands on one of the roughly 8,500 physical copies that exist.
The Price Explosion
The timeline of this price spike is absolutely wild. On December 31, 2025, more than a dozen copies sold on eBay for between $80 and $166. Just one day later on January 1, 2026, another 11 copies sold for $180 to $364.50. Now, dozens more listings have appeared with prices hovering around $300 to $400, and some sellers are pushing even higher hoping to capitalize on the demand.
Major retailers like Best Buy and Amazon are completely sold out. The game has vanished from shelves across the United States. Your only shot at getting a copy now is through resale platforms like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or local game shops that might have scored a copy back when it was worth basically nothing. Resell Calendar has even issued alerts to anyone who owns a copy or knows local pre-owned game shops, advising them that they’re suddenly sitting on valuable inventory.
Why This Specific Version Matters
Here’s where it gets technical. The PS5 jailbreak method requires a physical disc copy of the PS4 version of Star Wars Racer Revenge specifically. Not the original PS2 version from 2002. Not the digital PS4 version. It has to be the Limited Run Games physical release from 2019, because that specific print run contains a bug in the Hall of Fame menu that jailbreakers can exploit to crack open the PS5 system.
Once exploited, this allows users to play pirated games on their PlayStation 5 consoles. Obviously, not everyone buying these copies plans to use them for piracy – some collectors are grabbing them because they understand the sudden rarity, and some fans genuinely want to play the game. But the primary driver of this price explosion is absolutely the jailbreaking community, which is why the digital version isn’t experiencing the same demand spike.
| Date | Average Price |
|---|---|
| Before December 31, 2025 | $20 |
| December 31, 2025 | $80 – $166 |
| January 1, 2026 | $180 – $364.50 |
| January 2-3, 2026 | $300 – $400+ |
| Total Print Run | ~8,500 copies (Limited Run Games) |
| Original Retail Price | $14.99 |
The Limited Run Factor
Limited Run Games specializes in producing physical editions of digital-only games in small quantities, typically for collectors. When they released Star Wars Racer Revenge for PS4 in 2019, they printed roughly 8,500 copies at $14.99 for the standard edition. That’s already a small number compared to typical retail releases that print hundreds of thousands or millions of units.
Now factor in that many of those copies have been opened and played, some have been lost or damaged, and others are owned by collectors who have no intention of selling. The actual number of physical copies available for purchase has shrunk dramatically, which is why we’re seeing this feeding frenzy. This is even rarer than Cubic Ninja for 3DS, which was famously used for jailbreaking that system and saw similar price explosions years ago.
What Is Star Wars Racer Revenge Anyway
For those who’ve never heard of this game – and let’s be honest, that’s most people – Star Wars Racer Revenge is a pod racing game that originally launched for PlayStation 2 in 2002. It’s a sequel to Star Wars Episode I: Racer, the beloved N64 and PC title that let you race as various characters from The Phantom Menace pod racing scenes.
Racer Revenge didn’t make quite the same cultural impact as its predecessor. It was fine – a competent arcade racer with decent graphics for the PS2 era and satisfying high-speed gameplay. Fans of the original generally enjoyed it. But it wasn’t a massive hit, and when Limited Run brought it to PS4 in 2019, it was primarily targeting nostalgic collectors rather than expecting huge sales. The best way to actually experience the game today is through the digital version on PS5 or via emulation, neither of which help if you’re trying to jailbreak hardware.
The Timing Couldn’t Be Weirder
Adding another layer of absurdity to this situation: just weeks ago at The Game Awards 2025, a brand new Star Wars racing game was announced. Star Wars: Galactic Racer is being developed by former Need for Speed and Burnout developers and is scheduled to launch later in 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. So we’re in this bizarre moment where an obscure 2002 racing game is suddenly worth hundreds of dollars while an actually anticipated new racing game in the same franchise is on the horizon.
The jailbreaking community probably doesn’t care about Galactic Racer’s announcement, but it does highlight how forgotten Racer Revenge truly was until this exploit was discovered. If you’d asked anyone a month ago to name Star Wars racing games, they’d mention Episode I: Racer and maybe the upcoming Galactic Racer. Racer Revenge would barely register.
What Happens Next
Prices will likely continue climbing in the short term as more people learn about the exploit and try to secure copies. Eventually, supply will completely dry up as the limited 8,500 print run gets absorbed by jailbreakers and collectors. At that point, prices could either stabilize at whatever the market decides is the equilibrium, or they could keep climbing if demand outpaces available supply.
Sony will almost certainly patch this exploit eventually, assuming they haven’t already started working on it. But that doesn’t really matter for the physical disc prices – people who want to jailbreak their PS5 will still need that specific disc to execute the exploit before updating their firmware. And collectors will want it regardless because scarcity drives value in the physical media market.
The Digital Preservation Angle
There’s something darkly ironic about a physical game becoming valuable specifically because it breaks digital restrictions. The jailbreaking community often argues their work serves game preservation – allowing people to play titles that companies have abandoned or made inaccessible. Star Wars Racer Revenge is still available digitally, so preservation isn’t really the issue here, but the broader conversation about who owns games and what rights consumers have to modify hardware they purchased remains relevant.
Meanwhile, most people who bought Star Wars Racer Revenge from Limited Run in 2019 probably did so because they wanted to own a physical copy of a game they remembered fondly. They had no idea it would become a $400 jailbreaking tool. Some of them are probably looking at their shelves right now wondering if they should cash in.
FAQs
Why is Star Wars Racer Revenge suddenly expensive?
The physical PS4 version contains an exploit in the Hall of Fame menu that allows jailbreaking PlayStation 5 consoles. Word spread in late December 2025, causing prices to spike from $20 to over $300 within days.
How many copies of Star Wars Racer Revenge exist?
Limited Run Games produced approximately 8,500 physical copies of the PS4 version in 2019, making it extremely scarce compared to typical retail releases.
Does the digital version work for jailbreaking?
No, the exploit specifically requires the physical disc version from Limited Run Games. Digital versions and the original PS2 release do not contain the necessary exploit.
Where can I buy Star Wars Racer Revenge now?
Major retailers like Best Buy and Amazon are sold out. Your only options are resale platforms like eBay (where prices are $300-400), Facebook Marketplace, or local game shops that might have old stock.
Is Star Wars Racer Revenge a good game?
It’s a competent pod racing game from 2002 that fans of the original Episode I: Racer generally enjoyed. It’s not a classic, but it’s a solid arcade racer if you enjoy the genre and Star Wars.
Will Sony patch this exploit?
Almost certainly, though no official statement has been made yet. However, even after a patch, people will still need the physical disc to execute the exploit before updating firmware.
What was the original price?
Limited Run Games sold the standard edition for $14.99 in 2019. Before the jailbreak news broke, used copies were selling for around $20 on eBay.
Is this similar to other jailbreak price spikes?
Yes, Cubic Ninja for Nintendo 3DS experienced a similar price explosion when it was discovered to enable homebrew. Limited Run releases are even rarer than typical retail games, making this spike potentially more extreme.
Conclusion
Star Wars Racer Revenge’s transformation from $20 bargain bin title to $400 scalper commodity happened almost overnight, and it perfectly illustrates how weird the intersection of physical media, digital exploits, and collector markets can get. A game that almost nobody cared about two weeks ago is now one of the most sought-after PS4 releases, not because of its gameplay or cultural significance, but because it happens to contain a bug that cracks open Sony’s latest console. If you own a copy and have no interest in jailbreaking, congratulations – you’re sitting on a goldmine. If you were hoping to pick up a cheap copy to relive some PS2-era nostalgia, you’re out of luck unless you want to drop hundreds on eBay. And if you’re Sony, you’re probably scrambling to patch this exploit while wondering how a forgotten Limited Run release became your biggest security headache. That’s gaming in 2026 – where a 24-year-old pod racing game nobody remembered is suddenly worth more than most new releases.