Star Wars: The Old Republic Going Third-Party as BioWare Focuses on Mass Effect and Dragon Age
IGN has learned that EA is nearing an agreement to transfer the development and management of the ongoing MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic from BioWare to third-party studio Broadsword Online Games.
Broadsword and EA have signed an agreement, and the deal is expected to close as soon as this month, according to people familiar with the matter. Under the agreement, The Old Republic would be taken over by Broadsword Online, the current developers of Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot, the former co-founder of Mythic Entertainment and vice president of BioWare. It is run by Rob Denton, formerly of the early days of The Old Republic.
Following the publication of this article, EA addressed the news in the following statement.
“Almost 12 years after its release, Star Wars: The Old Republic is still a success, with a dedicated and passionate community that continues to grow. We believe that the future of games and communities remains very bright, and we’re excited about the growth of games and the team, including conversations with Broadsword, a boutique studio that specializes in delivering community-driven experiences online. and how it provides the best opportunities for evolution.Our goal is to do what is best for the game and its players.”
Currently, The Old Republic’s core development team has about 70-80 people, more than half of which are expected to move to Broadsword. Those who remain at EA have the opportunity to seek roles elsewhere in the company, or face layoffs.
Old Republic continues to have content updates planned, including the upcoming patch 7.3 and the next PvP season, with many more planned in the future. EA will remain the game’s publisher, but BioWare will focus its resources on single-player games such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect. These two series of his have had new titles in 2018 and 2020 respectively, but few details have been revealed since then for both, especially Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, which has been plagued by an exodus of senior executives. There seems to beHis QA employees at the company voted to form a union last year
new hope
Old Republic first came out in December 2011 and IGN gave it a 9/10 in its review at the time. Originally released as a subscription game, it was converted to free-to-play within a year. sharp drop in subscriptionsSince then it has been a steady success.
Old Republic is still updated regularly, and has seen numerous expansions over the past decade, never reaching the heights of its competitor World of Warcraft, but it did. Nearly $1 billion in lifetime revenue as of 2019. Last year, creative director Charles Boyd left the company after 16 years.
The Old Republic remains a popular era in the Star Wars universe, and Lucasfilm admits it could be the setting for future movies and shows. A remake of the original Knights of the Old Republic is currently in development, but has been postponed indefinitely so progress is unknown.
Either way, the Old Republic is at the apex of a new era.
Additional reporting by Kat Bailey.
Update June 6, 2023: Updated to include statement from EA.
Rebekah Valentine is IGN’s Senior Reporter. you can find her on her twitter @duck valentine.
