Predictable this was.
A new report from IGN contains the somewhat unsurprising news that, almost 12 years on from launch, EA is moving the ongoing support of Star Wars: The Old Republic from an in-house BioWare team to the third-party studio Broadsword Online Games. Broadsword may not be a household name, but one can think of it as the retirement home for golden age MMOs: It also runs Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot.
It seems like SW:TOR fits in the same boat, with enough players to keep it viable but not enough to justify any significant investment from hereon in. The report says things are at an advanced stage, with EA and Broadsword having signed a letter of intent and the deal due to be finalised later this month. Fans of the game may take some solace in knowing that Broadsword’s head honcho is Rob Denton, Mythic Entertainment co-founder and formerly of BioWare, who worked on SW:TOR in its earliest stages.
Following the IGN report EA issued this statement:
“Almost 12 years after launch, Star Wars: The Old Republic remains a success and continues to grow its dedicated and passionate community.
