Are you honestly surprised that BioWare is looking at free-to-play with Star Wars: The Old Republic? Once deemed the WoW-killer, Star Wars: The Old Republic has quickly fallen from the graces of the MMO community thanks, in part, to its lack of end game content at launch (among other issues). Despite constant updates to add content and features to the game, SWTOR has been bleeding subscribers since its December 2011 release.
Will it go free to play? We've heard the rumors, but while lead designer Emmanuel Lusinchi suggests that BioWare is willing to consider other pricing options (like F2P), he feels the quality of the competition is more important than the free-to-play pricing model.
“The MMO market is very dynamic and we need to be dynamic as well,” he said to GamesTM. “Unless people are happy with what they have, they are constantly demanding updates, new modes and situations. So we are looking at free-to-play but I can’t tell you in much detail. We have to be flexible and adapt to what is going on.”
Let's face it, Star Wars: The Old Republic will eventually end up free-to-play. BioWare Austin has been fighting to stay alive having recently reduced the number of staff at the studio last month.
Looking forward, the next update 1.3 doesn't contain any especially riveting features, but will introduce some much-requested additions like a looking for group tool, server transfer support, adaptive gear, and class balance changes.
[GamesTM]
