Star Wars: The Old Republic Shifts to a New Studio, BioWare Confirms Layoffs

Following the declaration that the production of BioWare's free-to-play MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic would be handed off to a different firm, general manager of BioWare Gary McKay has now disclosed that certain team members may lose their employment as a result of the change.

Star Wars: The Old Republic will be developed by a third-party studio

Broadsword Online Games, which previously created Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online, would take up the production of Star Wars: The Old Republic, according to a statement by McKay on the BioWare website. He also added that “most of the current team will be invited to accompany” the game. In the past, EA has asserted that this was required so that BioWare could focus on its next Mass Effect and Dragon Age games. Sadly, not all roles will change, according to McKay, and he said that these decisions were not made lightly and represent the hardest part of the change.

Nevertheless, EA is, in the words of McKay, “doing everything we can to support” individuals who are affected, and the affected workers “have an opportunity to find new roles within EA.” However, he stayed silent regarding the number of staff members who would be laid off as a result of the adjustment. Furthermore, McKay noted that in the long term, “We are confident that this is the best course of action for the game and its community. We at BioWare won't have as much fun playing the story of Star Wars: The Old Republic in the future. However, we are also sure that it will be managed skillfully.”

McKay continued by saying that Broadsword is “working tirelessly to ensure these worlds and these communities continue to thrive and grow” and that preparations have already been made for the future of the game, including “exciting new features planned that the team is not quite ready to talk about yet.” Previously, BioWare stated that the change in developers for the game did not indicate that it was going into maintenance mode and that it was instead “planning for 2024 and 2025.”