STAR WARS™: The Old Republic™

Star Wars: The Old Republic is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based in the Star Wars fictional universe. Developed by BioWare Austin and a supplemental team at BioWare Edmonton, the game was announced on October 21, 2008. The video game was released for the Microsoft Windows platform on December 20, 2011 in North America and part of Europe. It was released in Oceania and Asia on March 1, 2012. This story takes place in the Star Wars universe shortly after the establishment of a tenuous peace between the re-emergent Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic. The game features eight different classes. Each of the eight classes has a three act storyline that progresses as the character levels up. Players join either the Republic or the Sith Empire, but players may possess a morality at any point along the light/dark spectrum. Different classes favor different styles of gameplay, and the game features extensive customization options, fully voiced dialogue, companion characters, and dialogue options similar to BioWare's other role-playing games. Although not officially disclosed, based on estimates, it is one of the most developmentally expensive games ever made. The game had one million subscribers within three days of its launch, making it the world's "fastest-growing MMO ever"; however, in the following months the game lost a fair share of its subscriptions, but has remained profitable. The game has since adopted the hybrid free-to-play business model with remaining subscription option. The game was met with positive reception upon release and has received several updates and expansion packs. Several books and comics based on the game have been released. It is estimated that the game made $139 million in additional revenues on top of the subscription income in 2013. In an earnings call to investors in October 2019, Electronic Arts announced that Star Wars: The Old Republic was closing in on a billion dollars in lifetime revenue, making it a financial success based on the reported $200 million development budget. Since its release, the game has received multiple expansions as well as significant technical and graphical updates.