Bioware launches swtor.bioware.com

The new Star Wars MMO should be officialy announced tomorrow by Bioware and LucasArts.

The name of the game should be Star Wars - The Old Republic, as suggested by the address of the website recently opened by Bioware, swtor.bioware.com (which is currently a blank page, but should not remain long).

Star Wars KOTOR MMO announced soon !

From a CVG article :

KOTOR MMO to be revealed soon
Friday 3-Oct-2008 4:41 PM
BioWare's online Star Wars game to be unveiled in a matter of weeks

BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic MMO game is set to be 'officially' unveiled later this month, CVG has learnt.

The long-awaited online Star Wars - perhaps the games industry's worst kept secret - is being developed by BioWare Austin, which has been tinkering away behind the scenes on the title for over two years.

Officially the company hasn't admitted to any sort of Star Wars link with its MMO, but EA boss John Riccitiello let slip earlier this year that the RPG developer was in fact working on the online KOTOR, claiming that it is "quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry."

But it looks like the game won't (officially at least) be a secret for long. LucasArts and BioWare look set to lift the lid on a KOTOR MMO within the next 30 days.

Backing up all this is the strongest confirmation yet (other than EA's boss saying it's in the works, of course) from UK newspaper, The Daily Star, of all places.

A column that appeared last Saturday reports that the rag is soon off to San Francisco to "file an exclusive report on the game", after stating that BioWare is working on "a MMO of Knights of the Old Republic".

Look for more in the coming weeks then.

Investment analysis : "EA may climb to the top of the MMO game market"

From a Seeking Alpha article :

However, EA may climb to the top of the MMO game market with the acquisition of VG Holdings, the parent company of game developer BioWare and Pandemic Studios. Although no official press released has been made, BioWare is developing a MMO based in the Star Wars universe that is based on the Knights of the Old Republic video game series. A video game that has requires a monthly fee to play on top of a initial $50 investment plus any future expansion packs based on an intellectual property as popular as Star Wars will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue by itself.

Source

LucasArts recruiting MMO tester(s)

From Computerandvideogame.com :

"LucasArts has advertised for a QA Online Tester working out of the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco, which just confuses the heck out of us.

John Riccitiello confirmed back in July that a KOTOR MMO was on the cards, but so far no official word from either LucasArts or BioWare has emerged.

But BioWare - presumably the lead developer on the project - is making the game in Austin, Texas.

The job application continues to confuse. It calls for the applicant to "to test MMO games for bugs" and "Test the assigned LucasArts games for defects." MMO Games? Plural?

Whatever is going on in the house of Lucas, it's got us beat."

(source)

LucasFilm Files New Star Wars Trademarks

From a Kotaku article :

The house that Lucas built has filed for a handful of new trademarks, all Star Wars related, all potentially new names for the oft-rumored Knights of the Old Republic 3, the one that continues to pop up as a new BioWare developed MMO. LucasFilm recently filed trademark applications for Star Wars The Old Republic, The Old Republic, Star Wars Sagas and Star Wars Legends, all of are described as "video game software" and "entertainment services provided on-line by means of global and local area networks."

While that certainly sounds like a new Star Wars MMO and it all matches up nicely with what we've heard from former LucasArts employees, we'll call it rumor for now.

> Source

LucasFilms registers "Star Wars The Old Republic" mark

Source

1up digs for evidence about Bioware MMO being about Star Wars KOTOR

From a 1up article :

The LucasArts and BioWare announcement yesterday revealed the two companies haven't been forced to stop hanging out, despite revealed plans for the Canadian developer (alongside Pandemic Studios) to be acquired by Electronic Arts. As pointed out in the previous story, both Pandemic and BioWare indicated that folding into the EA empire didn't mean a disassembling of their existing publisher relationships.

"I don't think this necessarily closes as many doors as you think. BioWare, Pandemic right now have existing publishing relations with many companies and we're excited to continue those," said Pandemic President and co-founder Josh Resnick to 1UP.

BioWare and LucasArts confirmed this again, but the release didn't detail what the collaboration is -- but signs have pointed in the direction of a Star Wars MMO. Since December 2005, BioWare has been cranking away at a mysterious MMO down in Austin, Texas. Sony Online Entertainment, the folks behind Star Wars Galaxies, are located in Austin, as well, and BioWare confirmed to us almost a year ago an unspecified number of SOE employees migrated to BioWare when they moved into the area.

Obviously, BioWare has already shown LucasArts they have a deep respect for Star Wars and ability to create compelling new characters and stories within that universe -- hello, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Employment listings for the Austin studio have listed work related to a "fantasy" project, leading some to believe the MMO is culled from BioWare's work in the D&D world. Ignoring that Star Wars could easily be construed as fantasy, a D&D MMO already exists in Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach, and another team at BioWare is already hard at work on the D&D-influenced Dragon Age. It'd be a bit excessive.

It's no mystery that Star Wars Galaxies hasn't been as successful -- critically or commercially -- as hoped. Much needed gameplay reboots came months and years into the release cycle, and while expansion packs were marked improvements, it was too little, too late for many. For ages, rumors have existed that LucasArts was shopping for someone else to take over the reins, but given the heavy backlash SWG received, it's hard to discern who simply has an agenda against SOE's handling of the game.

BioWare has remained steadfast in its silence about the MMO, being especially touchy about whether it's based on an original BioWare IP, something completely new or an existing license. They were most cagey in an interview with GameSpot regarding the EA acquisition, where BioWare co-founder and co-CEO Dr. Ray Muzyka couldn't provide a straightforward response on whether the MMO was an original IP.

GS: Right, but judging by John's [Riccitiello, EA CEO] enthusiasm, it sounds pretty safe to say the MMO is an all-original IP. Would that be fair to say?

RM: [Long pause] We haven't revealed any details about the game. It's super secret right now.

That's certainly a strange answer to an otherwise straightforward question.

So far, there's no "smoking gun" that indicates BioWare is working on a Star Wars MMO, but given BioWare's past experience with the franchise, their inability to comment on the nature of the IP the title's based on and yesterday's announcement citing the collaboration between BioWare and LucasArts as covering "ground-breaking interactive entertainment product," it certainly sounds like the folks in Austin are cooking up something a bit more ambitious than just another RPG.

> Source : The Evidence for BioWare's Star Wars MMO

Job ads from Bioware website contain some clues

Having a look at the job ads at Bioware Austin Studios website, for people to work on the MMORPG projetc, we can find some clues in both direction.

Clues for a non Star Wars MMO, but rather a fantasy game :
- Writer job ad : "Familiarity with the fantasy genre and role-playing games is a must."
- Visual Effect Designer job ad : "Successful candidates will be able to research, conceptualize, and animate natural effects (water, smoke, foliage, dust, fabric); as well as fantastical effects (spells, explosions, powers, etc.). You must have an interest in fantasy."

Clue for a Star Wars MMO :
- Cconceptual Artist job ad : "Interested applicants may forward their resume and submit a 2D portfolio. Please include samples from at least three of the following categories: Environment - Architecture, Interior architecture, Character/Costume design, Creature design, Vehicles and technology, Props, items, objects"

Star Wars Galaxies 2 to be developed in 2008 or 2009

From a Hollywood Reporter article :

"Not all games are set up around the buying and selling of items, which would make it very difficult to take a game like 'Star Wars Galaxies' and make that transition," [Nancy MacIntyre, senior director of "Star Wars Galaxies"] says. But, she adds, when "Star Wars Galaxies 2" is developed -- perhaps in 2008 or 2009 -- things will be different. "If we were starting to build 'Star Wars Galaxies' today, we would absolutely consider building it from the ground up with premium services."

> Source : MMOG publishers conjure up new business models (14th december 2005)