Many Star Wars fans who have played the long-running massively multiplayer online RPG Star Wars: The Old Republic will have to get ready for some big changes. The game has been played since December 2011 actively and was originally released in competition with Blizzard’s World of Warcraft. Many praised the abundance of content and detail tailored to those who love the Star Wars galaxy, as well as those who love the storytelling of the universe, taking place in a similar time period as the beloved Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games. The Old Republic has since been regularly updated with new content for players by EA BioWare. But that will be changing very soon, with a new company taking control over ongoing operations and development for Star Wars: The Old Republic.
According to sources and a report published on IGN, both EA and MMO developer Broadsword Online Games have signed a letter of intent to move control of the game over to them. A deal is expected to be finalized towards the end of the month. Following the publication of the story on IGN, EA made a statement on the news about what will be happening with Star Wars: The Old Republic and what players should expect.
“Almost 12 years after launch, Star Wars: The Old Republic remains a success and continues to grow its dedicated and passionate community. We’re so proud of the work the team has done, and the future of the game and the community continues to be very bright. We’re evaluating how we give the game and the team the best opportunity to grow and evolve, which includes conversations with Broadsword, a boutique studio that specializes in delivering online, community-driven experiences. Our goal is to do what is best for the game and its players.”
Broadsword Online Games is the current developer of games like Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot. After the transition, Star Wars: The Old Republic will continue to get updates, such as a new PvP season and patch 7.3 coming out soon. More updates for the game are expected to follow in the months afterward. The last big update for the game was the expansion pack “Legacy of the Sith” which also celebrated the game’s 10-year anniversary. Star Wars: The Old Republic has been free-to-play for a long time, despite being a subscription-based game at first, with regular updates that keep players engaged with new content since its initial release.
As far as the development team working on the game, many on the current team who had been working on The Old Republic will be moving over to Broadsword Online. The rest that is leftover from the transition will either be moving to other projects in development within the company, such as the recently announced Mass Effect and Dragon Age games. Others who aren’t assigned to other things will end up being let go. There are around 80 people on the team who worked on updating and maintaining development on Star Wars: The Old Republic.
What are your thoughts about Star Wars: The Old Republic and the changes happening? Have you been playing the game and seeing all of the new expansions? Let us know down below in the comments!
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