Remember back when EA refused to put much of anything on Steam, lest it compete with its own Origin platform? Those days have fast been coming to an end, and now even Star Wars The Old Republic has dropped on Valve’s platform, bringing the hybrid free-to-play story-centric MMO from 2011 to yet another new audience.
SWTOR, of course, is well-known to veteran fans of the MMO genre, but the Steam promo blurbs are just too cute.
“STAR WARS: The Old Republic is the only massively multiplayer online game with a Free-to-Play option that puts you at the center of your own story-driven STAR WARS™ saga. Play as a Jedi, a Sith, a Bounty Hunter, or as one of many other iconic Star Wars roles and explore the galaxy far, far away over three thousand years before the classic films. With 5 narrative expansions, become the hero of your own STAR WARS adventure as you choose your path down the Light or Dark side of the Force.”
We have so much SWTOR content from the last near-decade that I almost don’t know where to tell you to begin if you’re just now considering giving the game a spin. Its most recent major update came at the tail end of last year when the Onslaught expansion went live (as chronicled in our Hyperspace Beacon column), while a smaller update for personal conquests went live this past spring. Our own Stream Team frequently dips into the game to wander through the story.
BioWare is planning a livestream this afternoon; we’re guessing it’s meant to announce this.
Your choices will determine the fate of the galaxy far, far away. . . #SWTOR is now available on Steam!https://t.co/Nd759TwW8n pic.twitter.com/BjEIFHuhPI
— The Old Republic (@SWTOR) July 21, 2020
The official blog post now out promises “full cross-save and crossplay,” in that yes you can play through Steam even if you have an old account, since really this is just a launcher. But the Steam linkup will include trading cards, emoticons, backgrounds, and so forth in the Steam client. It doesn’t have achievements yet, but BioWare promises to add 100 in an update coming “later this year,” and they will indeed be retroactive.
