Star Wars: The Old Republic Game Update

Now that the Legacy of the Sith expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic has been live for a few months, you might be wondering what BioWare still has in store for their MMORPG. Well, according to this article on the official website, the game will be getting a new update in a couple of weeks featuring new group and story content.

Beyond that, we’re told that the game’s creative director Charles Boyd will be moving on from the project. Here’s more on that:

Hello SWTOR Community,

As many of you know, Star Wars™: The Old Republic recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary this past December, which is an incredible milestone for a game. On the heels of that anniversary, we released our seventh expansion, Legacy of the Sith, in February. Our next content update for that expansion, Game Update 7.1, is slated to be released on August 2nd. This update will incorporate a host of new content and fixes, including:

• New daily mission arcs for Republic and Imperial players on the planet Manaan.
• A challenging new Operation for 8-player teams.
• Improvements to our Weapons in Outfitter system.
• Key revelations about Darth Malgus and the Sith lord whose relics he has been pursuing.

We’re excited for you to experience all of this great content next month as our work to ensure Star Wars: The Old Republic remains a best-in-class MMO continues.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is known for its years of storytelling, and capturing players’ hearts for over a decade now. All chapters must close in order for others to begin. We wanted to take the time to wish a fond and wholehearted farewell to Charles Boyd, our Creative Director, and talk about those who are taking the reins for the game after his departure. Charles has been with the company for 16 years and played a significant role in the game’s success. Star Wars: The Old Republic truly is something special and hitting our 10-year landmark together was remarkable. I would like to thank him for playing his part in making that happen; we will miss Charles as a friend and as a colleague and wish him all the best in his next adventure.

As expressed by Gary McKay, BioWare™ General Manager, “It’s always sad to see someone you appreciate go, but I wish Charles all the best in his next adventure. He leaves SWTOR in excellent hands with an incredible team that will carry forward our vision for the game. We are committed to SWTOR’s future as we continue to work on the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect.”

SWTOR’s Design Leadership Team is composed of talented, experienced developers who have also played pivotal roles in making the experience as special as it is:

• Eric Musco, Lead Producer: Eric has been a member of the SWTOR team in a variety of roles over his 10+ years at BioWare. Long-time players may know Eric from his many years as The Old Republic Community Manager, but behind the scenes, Eric has been working as a Game Producer for several years. He looks forward to keeping our players’ perspectives front and center as we continue to support and update SWTOR going forward.
• Ashley Ruhl, Narrative Director: Ashley has made major contributions to SWTOR over the years, from building cinematic scenes for launch to returning to create some of the most pivotal scenes in Knights of the Eternal Throne, and most recently, has acted as the leader of our cinematic team through Legacy of the Sith. In her new role as Narrative Director, Ashley will oversee all of the game’s storytelling efforts as we continue to unfold the mysteries discovered in Legacy of the Sith.
• Caitlin Sullivan Kelly, Lead Writer: Caitlin has been an indispensable contributor to SWTOR’s narrative team for almost eight years. Caitlin will carry our players’ ten-year-long personal Star Wars sagas forward with all of the new stories, characters, romances, betrayals, and impactful choices SWTOR is known for.
• Alan Copeland, UX Director: Alan has been on the frontline of modernization in SWTOR, leading the team that is updating our UI/UX experience to make the game more clear, accessible, and fun to play.
• George Smith, Gameplay Design Director: George has been a part of the SWTOR design team since well before launch, led our Operations team up through Shadow of Revan, and now oversees the full gameplay team.

The world of game development is always evolving and we’re excited to chart out the journey for Star Wars: The Old Republic going forward and share more about those plans with you soon.

– Keith

A Note From Charles Boyd, Creative Director

Even after almost sixteen years, I still can’t fully believe how lucky I’ve been to work on Star Wars: The Old Republic. The Star Wars galaxy has always been a huge part of my life since I was a kid, so getting to play a role in SWTOR’s growth from its initial vision to a colossal release and then an incredible live service for over a decade has been an amazing experience. The team’s passion, creativity, and dedication to this game are incredible; I don’t think I can ever fully express how much I’ve admired and appreciated working with them every single day.

As always, there are some exciting things in the works for the future of SWTOR – storylines and planets and gameplay and characters that I can’t wait to see come to life. I’m really looking forward to experiencing them all right alongside our players.

So to the team, to our longtime partners at Lucasfilm, and to all of you: thank you so, so much for this amazing journey. I may be moving on from the project, but the Old Republic will never leave my heart.

– Charles