BioWare is almost ready to let wider audiences into their new Star Wars MMO. Will you be among the lucky ones?
Electronic Arts today announced that Star Wars: The Old Republic will begin to have Beta Test Weekends in September. The discrete play sessions will be available to select players, and will offer a sneak peek at some of the game's classes, quests, and other content. If you want to throw your hat in the ring as a potential beta tester, you can sign up at the game's official website. As announced earlier today, the game is also now available for preorder, and EA promises early access to the game for those who are willing to take the plunge.
For everyone else, it doesn't look like you'll have too long to wait. Bioware co-founder Ray Muzyka says the game will be one of the "biggest launches of holiday 2011," which seems to confirm suspicions that the game will be publicly available before the end of the year. He also mentions a pretty sneaky concept to convince you of the importance of pre-ordering. "We are taking all of the necessary steps to make sure The Old Republic has a thriving community built on a stable online foundation from day one, including limiting supply at launch to ensure that players easily transition into the servers," Muzyka says. To put it another way, Bioware thinks demand is going to be so high that you might not be able to get in on the ground floor if you don't ensure your position now. Sounds a little suspicious to us. That said, pre-ordering the game is likely to help BioWare set an appropriate number of servers, which will benefit all players come launch day.
Here's hoping that launch goes smoothly. There are a lot of MMO and Star Wars fans alike that have a lot riding on the new game.
