The Old Republic to Adopt Free-to-play Model This Fall

MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic is going free-to-play as of November this year, EA and BioWare have announced.

The game is currently playable for free up to level 15 but the new model will allow players to continue on to 50.

There will of course be restrictions of sorts to playing for free, but the content will be unlockable with a new currency coming to the universe called Cartel Coins. The new currency will be used to buy stuff for either convenience or vanity.

Players can also stick with subscribing, which will give them completely unrestricted access to exclusive content and a monthly Cartel Coins allowance.

There’ll be warm-up period in which The Old Republic will be available for $14.99 this August, with a free month’s subscription.

Once the new plan’s instated, loyal players who originally paid a subscription fee will be rewarded with 150 Cartel Coins for every month played before today. There’ll also be rewards of 200-250 Cartel Coins for each month between August 1sr and the launch of the new model depending on whether players are subscribed.

Austin Matthew of Bromberg of BioWare had the following to say about the change in pricing “Players want flexibility and choice. The subscription-only model presented a major barrier for a lot of people who wanted to become part of The Old Republic universe.”

Jeff Hickman, the title’s exec producer, added “We believe we are in a position to help improve the service even more, not only by continuing to add new content, but also by expanding the game to many more Star Wars fans, increasing the populations on worlds and the vibrancy of the community.”