Reports earlier this month claimed that BioWare was preparing to move all work related to Star Wars: The Old Republic over to Broadsword Online, its development partner on the MMORPG, and that has now been officially confirmed.
In a recently published blog update, BioWare GM Gary McKay announced that development on future support and content for Star Wars: The Old Republic is being handed over in its entirety to Broadsword Online, though EA will remain as the game’s publisher.
“I’ve been working closely with Keith Kanneg, who leads the SWTOR team, to give the game and the team the best opportunity to grow and evolve,” McKay wrote. “And so, while EA will remain SWTOR’s publisher, development of the game will move to our partner and friends at Broadsword, a boutique studio with expertise in managing online games. Both the Broadsword studio and SWTOR team members will be joining forces and working tirelessly to support “every player, every day,” ensuring that these worlds and these communities continue to thrive and grow. Their Founder and President, Rob Denton, even has direct experience with SWTOR, having helped lead the team during the development and launch of the game during his time at EA.”
He added: “There are also exciting new features planned that the team is not quite ready to talk about yet, but suffice it to say that players can expect improvements and new content into the future. This is a company that will give SWTOR the room to grow and flourish, with the continued commitment and full support of Lucasfilm Games, and the continued partnership with EA.”
Keith Kanneg, executive producer on the MMORPG, wrote, “I know decisions that impact our people are the hardest part of change and evolution, but I believe Broadsword is the right studio to continue to enhance and modernize our game—and also expand the number of people who can play it.
“Of course, I’m also very glad that I’ll be moving over with key team leaders and continuing to work with most of our current team.”
BioWare itself, meanwhile, has said it’s going to be renewing its focus on crafting “immersive, emotionally charged, single player games.” The studio’s next game is going to be Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, which, according to McKay, the development team is continuing to “build, polish, and tune” to deliver the best experience possible. Beyond that, BioWare is also working on the next Mass Effect game, which is still in pre-production.
