It was one of the most anticipated MMO game launches of all time when it came out in December 2011. However, neither developer BioWare nor publisher Electronic Arts were able to sustain high monthly subscriber numbers for Star Wars: The Old Republic. A few months ago, it was announced that the game would be turned into a free-to-play game.
Today, EA and BioWare flipped the switch on the free-to-play era of The Old Republic. This revamped version will allow anyone to play as all eight character classes in Star Wars: The Old Republic for free up to level 50.
Players will still have the option to subscribe to the game, which will give them additional in-game currency as well as access to a lot of exclusive content. There"s also another option which grants some, but not all, of the game"s content by purchasing any in-game items that total #4.99 or above. You can check out a list of all of the features available for free and paid players on the official Old Republic website.
It will be interesting to see if the switch to free-to-play will serve to boost The Old Republic"s player base enough to keep it alive.
Source: Star Wars The Old Republic website | Image via EA