14 DAY TRIAL // Publisher Electronic Arts has delivered official confirmation of the fact that its upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is being developed by BioWare and overseen by LucasArts, will not be released to gamers before the beginning of April 2011, when its 2012 fiscal year starts.
Confirmation came from Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown who was speaking at the Credit Suisse 2010 Technology Conference.
He said that this is the first time that the publisher has publicly talked about the launch date for the MMO.
The spring 2011 date has long been banded around the games oriented media and the official BioWare forums but no confirmation had arrived from the publisher itself.
In November Electronic Arts has announced that it has taken over all publishing and distribution related duties for Star Wars: The Old Republic, which initially had been shared with LucasArts.
Star Wars: The Old Republic will allow gamers to step inside the well known science fiction universe and take on a variety of roles, aiding the Light or the Dark Side in their continual struggle against each other.
BioWare has said ever since the project was unveiled that it aimed to deliver a different kind of MMO, with the story of the universe being very important to the experience and with fully voiced non player characters set to add to the immersion in the experience.
The fact that the game is set during the period which is also explored in the Knights of the Old Republic games means that BioWare and Electronic Arts can be more creative, without being restricted by the numerous canonical content which is linked to the “modern” period of Star Wars.
Rumors have suggested that Star Wars: The Old Republic has cost more than 300 million dollars to make to date.
Electronic Arts has only confirmed that, in terms of resources allocated, this is the biggest project it has invested in.