This story takes place in the Star Wars fictional universe shortly after the establishment of a tenuous peace between the re-emergent Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic, 300 years after the events of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games, and more than 3,600 years before the events in the Star Wars films. In an earnings call to investors in October 2019, Electronic Arts announced that Star Wars: The Old Republic was closing in on a billion dollars in lifetime revenue, making it a huge financial success based on the reported $200 million development budget. It is estimated that the game made $139 million in additional revenues on top of the subscription income in 2013. Several books and comics based on the game have been released. The game was met with positive reception upon release and has received several updates and expansion packs. The game has since adopted the hybrid free-to-play business model with remaining subscription option. The game had one million subscribers within three days of its launch, making it the world's "fastest-growing MMO ever", however, in the following months the game lost a fair share of its subscriptions, but has remained profitable. Different classes favor different styles of gameplay, and the game features extensive customization options, fully voiced dialogue, companion characters, and dialogue options similar to BioWare's other role-playing games.Īlthough not officially disclosed, based on estimates, it is one of the most developmentally expensive games made. Players join either the Republic or the Sith, but players may possess a morality at any point along the light/dark spectrum. Each of the eight classes has a three act storyline that progresses as the character levels up. The game features eight different classes. This story takes place in the Star Wars universe shortly after the establishment of a tenuous peace between the re-emergent Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic.
The video game was released for the Microsoft Windows platform on Decemin North America and part of Europe. Developed by BioWare Austin and a supplemental team at BioWare Edmonton, the game was announced on October 21, 2008. Star Wars: The Old Republic is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based in the Star Wars universe.
Title image: Promotional image from Steam’s store page: įirst image: Taken in-game by the author.Massive multiplayer online role-playing game Despite its issues, I’ve found SWTOR to be a decent RPG, with plenty of content to explore in the Star Wars universe. As an unfortunate side-effect, these limitations of power also make your equipment largely meaningless, as the game will be forced to scale down powerful gear, to keep the character in line with the current mission’s difficulty.
However, these two factors do limit the game to a smooth, often easy combat where you will not find many challenges, as you are forced into a certain level of power. Thanks to level downscaling and generous experience points (XP), the player should never feel too powerful, while also removing the need to grind for XP to progress in the story. With eight class stories combined with Flashpoints, SWTOR offers plenty of story for both solo and group players. SWTOR offers dozens of planets that the player can explore. The new roles are serviceable, but inferior due to having new abilities that feel tacked on. Within the new system, this makes the other two extra roles less efficient, as the companion behavior for the original role is more refined. In older versions of the game, every companion would have a set role that could not be changed. This is a welcome addition to the single-player experience, but it’s not without faults. This allows you to switch the dynamic of the two characters in play, allowing for more flexibility and adaptation. Your character and companion(s) will follow one of three traditional MMO roles: Damage (Damaging enemies), Tank (Sustaining damage from enemies), and Support (Healing and buffing allies). You may also have one companion with you, and their role can be freely chosen at any time. In SWTOR, you choose one of eight classes, which will affect your preferred roles in combat. Like most MMOs, SWTOR has been actively updated over the years with new planets, stories, and changes that focus on improving the single-player experience. The game is available as Free-to-play, with an optional subscription for additional benefits. It is a successor to the Knights of the Old Republic single-player games. Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) developed by Bioware and released in 2011.