Star Wars: The Old Republic release date announced

Bioware have confirmed their latest MMO will hit the EU two days after its launch in the US.

Whilst Europe will receive the game on December 22, our neighbours across the pond will get it a full two days earlier on December 20.

Fans were growing increasingly worried that the release date for the game may be pushed back into the beginning of 2012; missing its original target of Q4 2011.

Last month, Bioware announced that the release date of the game depended entirely on the reception it received from players beta testing the game.

With a release date now officially announced, it would seem that the developers are happy with the responses received from testers and are happy to schedule a release for the game.

EA and Bioware are preparing the games release to be the biggest online game launch ever.

Whilst it’s a bold ambition, clearly they are looking to capitalise on a Christmas launch and benefit from the festive spirit.

“This is an incredible moment for everyone at BioWare and our partners at LucasArts who have dedicated their lives to build this extraordinary game,” said BioWare co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka.

“We appreciate the patience from the millions of fans who have been waiting for the game’s release.”

[Source: Star Wars: The Old Republic website]

Greg Lockley

Star Wars: The Old Republic still slated for 2011 release

An official release date announcement expected this month or next

EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau spoke on the subject last month, highlighting that the game’s release date is tied to data being derived from beta testing. With this in mind, the plan remains to have the game released before Christmas.

“We have a date set internally [for calendar Q4], with a lot of assumptions around it” he told Gamasutra last night.

“We’re not done until we’re done… We’re not going to know with enough certainty to publicly announce a release date until later this month or sometime in October”, he added.

However, EA has reportedly factored a possible delay to 2012 into its financial guide.

It follows news earlier this week that BioWare has postponed EU beta testing program for The Old Republic.

The announcement has led to mounting speculation as to whether the game will make its 2011 release or be delayed into 2012.

[Source: Gamasutra]

Greg Lockley