With the rumors about SWTOR’s development moving from SWTOR to Broadsword leaving many questions unanswered, SWTOR’s Project / Game Director, Keith Kanneg, created a “Frequently Asked Questions” post about the move. While it has not been confirmed that SWTOR is moving specifically to Broadsword, it seems clear that the game will be moving to a “third party studio”.
Star Wars: The Old Republic potentially being handed over from Bioware studio to Broadsword
Update 7.3 had a successful launch last week, and this FAQ has shed some light on the future of the game. The biggest question that remains is which members of the studio make the move to the third party studio, which stay at Bioware or EA, and which will look for opportunities elsewhere.
In addition, some news about the timeline of upcoming events was shared:
- 7.3.1 towards the end of the summer
- story continuing in 7.4 on its heels as we enter the holidays
- working on further updates such as improved integrations with Steam and updating to DirectX 12
Hi all,
Appreciate your patience with us as we continue to navigate the future shift of SWTOR’s development team to a third party studio. We’re working through the changes right now so I’ll share with you the details I have.
With 7.3 now live, our priority is continuing to prepare for Game Updates 7.3.1 and 7.4 along with planning for 2024 and 2025 with a focus on content and continued modernization initiatives.
We also want to address some of the common questions we are seeing.
What’s changing for players after this shift happens?
For all of you, not much is changing at all. Players will continue playing the game and swtor.com and the forums will continue to remain online and a source for players to get news and updates. Support for SWTOR will remain unchanged and players can continue to utilize the EA Support Page or in-game tools for assistance.
Will the SWTOR development team be moving out of Austin?
We are already a remote team with staff working from home throughout the US and beyond. That said, our physical presence will still be remaining in Austin and we will be securing a new office space here.
Is the game heading into maintenance mode?
Absolutely not. As I’ve said before, we are working on future plans including more story and modernization initiatives for the game. We’ve upgraded the game to 64-bit, and are working on moving the servers to the cloud, and there are more content and tech updates on the way.
Moving to a third party studio would allow us a lot of creative freedom, and we’re very much looking forward to the opportunities that will be open to us.
What’s going to happen to my account? My Cartel Coins?
Nothing will change on this front. Everything will remain the same with your in-game accounts and any purchases you make.
What does EA remaining the publisher on record mean for the game?
Similar to what we have said a few times now, it means nothing changes. The SWTOR team continues to be in control of the development and direction of the game with EA providing publishing and player support.
What will happen to moving servers to the cloud?
That is still happening. We will have to reassess timelines, but we have every intention of moving forward with migrating our servers over to the cloud. We are also continuing with our evaluation regarding the APAC server as well.
To close, I know that when something like this happens it can bring on feelings of doom and gloom. This isn’t the beginning of the end, this truly is a new beginning for us. As you can imagine there are quite a few moving parts right now but we have a lot to talk about in our future. You can expect 7.3.1 towards the end of the summer, with the story continuing in 7.4 on its heels as we enter the holidays. Also on the tech side, we are working on further updates such as improved integrations with Steam and updating to DirectX 12. We’ll start talking about all of this and more in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, Game Update 7.3 is now live, and I’ll be right in there with all of you going through the new story and Flashpoint on all my characters.
Thanks for your patience with this, everyone. You’ll be hearing from us again soon.
-Keith
Note: We will be locking this thread to keep any informational updates in one place, but you all are free to continue discussion in the original update thread.
In addition to the post, later in the day EA officially announced that it is dividing its studios in to two different organizations – EA Entertainment and EA SPORTS. This change may also contribute to the reasons why SWTOR is changing studios, as EA itself is being restructured.
[…] EA Entertainment encompasses extraordinary owned IP, including some of the world’s most beloved blockbuster franchises, as well as licensed IP through powerful collaborations. We’re building the future of interactive entertainment on a foundation of legendary franchises and innovative new experiences, which represents massive opportunities for growth.
I am excited to announce that Laura Miele has been appointed President of EA Entertainment, Technology & Central Development. She will oversee key studios, empowering them with more creative ownership, while continuing to lead central technology and development services to drive execution and operational efficiencies. Laura has a proven track record of leading creative teams at scale and delivering business results. I thank Laura for her incredible leadership and look forward to partnering with her on delivering our compelling strategy as she steps into this crucial role to drive transformational growth for the company.
As part of EA Entertainment, Vince Zampella, who has an unrivaled reputation for creating games that shape culture and build communities, will lead the world-class studios responsible for Apex Legends, our Star Wars games, and Battlefield. Samantha Ryan will remain focused on leading lifestyle franchises and blockbuster single-player experiences. Jeff Karp will continue to lead mobile, positioning us for significant growth on the world’s largest platform. In addition to focusing on the future of our globally recognized mobile games, Jeff and his team will partner with franchise leaders to build on the success of titles such as FIFA Mobile to create connected ecosystems for our players.
Sounds like the main goal here is to give each organization more autonomy to make their own decisions while still reporting to Andrew Wilson
Seems like the goal of the structural change is to get things done smoother / more quickly
— Benji-Sales (@BenjiSales) June 20, 2023
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