Bioware has announced that they will no longer be the main developers on Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR).
For the past 12 years, Bioware has remained the primary developer on the Massively Multiplayer Online RPG (MMORPG) but will not leave it in the hands of Broadsword Games.
Broadsword Games is a studio founded in 2014 by Mythic Entertainment co-founder Rob Denton.
The studio seemingly functions to keep older MMOs alive, particular ones from the now defunct Mythic Entertainment such as Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot.
In a blog post about the transition, Bioware had this to say:
So what does this mean?
Well, most importantly, it means that players will continue to enjoy the SWTOR they know and love, and as Keith mentioned in a recent community post, all current plans are still in place. There are also exciting new features planned that the team is not quite ready to talk about yet, but suffice it to say that players can expect improvements and new content into the future. This is a company that will give SWTOR the room to grow and flourish, with the continued commitment and full support of Lucasfilm Games, and the continued partnership with EA.
No big change comes without challenges. Among them is the fact that most of the current team will be invited to accompany the game on its move to Broadsword, though unfortunately not every role will make the move. This is the hardest part of this transition, and these decisions were not made lightly. We are of course doing everything we can to support the affected team members, who have an opportunity to find new roles within EA. In addition, we’re aware that the team members who are being asked to move to a new studio will also be adapting to change, and we will be working with Broadsword to make the transition as comfortable as possible.
In the long run, though, we are confident that this is the best decision for the game and its community. We at BioWare will miss being a part of SWTOR’s story going forward. But we also know that it will be in very good hands.
Star Wars: The Old Republic is available and free-to-play on Windows PC (via the official website, GOG, Origin, and Steam).
