According to a report first published by IGN, it appears as though EA is nearing a deal to move ongoing operations and development of the popular MMORPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR), from its original studio of BioWare Austin to a third-party called Broadsword Online Games.
EA and Broadsword expect the agreement to be finalized by the end of this month. It would essentially see SWTOR passed over to the studio behind Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online. Fortunately, players will be happy to know that it’s being led by former BioWare VP and Mythic Entertainment co-founder Rob Denton, someone who worked on SWTOR during the early days.
After news broke out everywhere, EA went and made a public statement:
“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.”
Over half of the approximately 75 people who comprise The Old Republic’s core development team will migrate to Broadsword. Those who choose to remain with EA will be granted a chance to look for roles elsewhere inside the company or risk layoffs.
These changes may seem like a drastic shift on paper. Still, when you realize it’s going to be mostly the same people working at another studio under the leadership of a BioWare veteran, it’s not too concerning. Always remember that when Bungie moved on to make Destiny, many of their employees left to work at 343 Industries to continue with Halo.
Current players will see no disruption to their experience, as SWTOR will continue to get new content updates, beginning with the upcoming 7.3 patch and new PvP season. EA will continue publishing the game, and BioWare will focus all resources on new entries in its award-winning single-player RPG franchises Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
At first, SWTOR was a subscription-based MMO that shifted to the free-to-play model to better compete in the industry. However, those that still subscribe get the full value of the experience over those who don’t.
LucasFilm acknowledges just how famous and influential The Old Republic era of Star Wars is, and they even included it as part of the new official timeline they showed off at Celebration 2023.
Star Wars: The Old Republic is a massively-multiplayer online roleplaying game developed by BioWare and LucasArts (now LucasFilm Games) and initially released in December 2011 for PC. Read our review about it to learn more.