Star Wars: The Old Republic ‘Rise of the Hutt Cartel’ launches next month

EA and BioWare have announced Rise of the Hutt Cartel, the first digital expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic, will release next month on Sunday, April 14, 2013. The expansion increases the character level cap from 50 to 55 and introduces the new dual-faction planet of Makeb where you can continue your battle with the Hutt Cartel.

For those who pre-ordered the game on or before January 7, 2013, you can begin your five days of Early Access on Tuesday, April 9. This is the same date Game Update 2.0: Scum and Villainy goes live. In this update, the level cap will be increased, but, again, you'll need the expansion to take advantage of it.

Although Star Wars: The Old Republic was released as a subscription-based MMORPG, the game adopted a free-to-play model after subscription numbers quickly dwindled following its launch. BioWare and EA now offer players a choice to pay a monthly subscription and unlock all of the content, or play for free with some limitations. For those who are already subscribers to The Old Republic, you can download Rise of the Hutt Cartel for just $9.99. Those who play for free will have to pay full price of $19.99 to experience the new content.