After many months of waiting and anticipation, Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) finally has a release date.
BioWare and LucasArts have announced the official launch date on the game to be December 20, 2011 (just in time for Christmas or any other December holiday you celebrate). According to the SWTOR website, Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare, said:
“This is an incredible moment for everyone at BioWare and our partners at LucasArts who have dedicated their lives to build this extraordinary game. We appreciate the patience from the millions of fans who have been waiting for the game’s release.”
Most people have their own personal views of pre-ordering games, but if this is one that you plan on picking up, it would be smart to do so. There are currently three different “tiers” of pre-orderable packages. The three editions are:
Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector’s Edition – The Collector’s Edition includes a host of virtual in-game and physical items for the ultimate Star Wars fan. . Physical items include a Darth Malgus Statue from Gentle Giant, the journal of Jedi Master Gnost Dural from Chronicle Books, The Music of The Old Republic soundtrack, a security key and a map of the in-game Star Wars galaxy. Virtual items include a Flare Gun, Training Droid, personal HoloDancer, HoloCam, the STAP vehicle and access to the Collector’s Store, an in-game store with new in-game items exclusively for owners of the Collector’s Edition. The Collector’s Edition will also include 30 days of game time and has an MSRP of $149.99 (USD) at participating retailers.
Star Wars: The Old Republic Digital Deluxe Edition – The Digital Deluxe Edition has an MSRP of $79.99 (USD) and includes 30 days of game time and five virtual items, including the Flare Gun, Training Droid, personal HoloDancer, HoloCam and the STAP vehicle.
Star Wars: The Old Republic Standard Edition– The base edition of the game is available at retailers and online for an MSRP of $59.99 (USD) and includes 30 days of game time.
Those who pre-order the game receive a code, presumably while supplies last, and will have the ability to enter the code onto the SWTOR website to gain early access to the game. If that’s not convincing enough to go out and pre-order the game, there might be one more thing to consider.
Instead of having to worry about what subscription package to choose, each game will come with 30 days of subscription time. When the 30 days are up, the available subscription packages are:
1 Month Subscription: $14.99 (£8.99/€12.99)
3 Month Subscription: $13.99 per month (one-time charge of $41.97/£25.17/€35.97)
6 Month Subscription: $12.99 per month (one-time charge of $77.94/£46.14/€65.94)
Be sure to go and get on the pre-order boat soon, you don’t want to miss out.