It’s a bit of good news and bad news for Star Wars: The Old Republic fans. We’ll start with the good news: Update 7.1 has a release date of Tuesday, August 2nd, bringing with it the daily missions area of Manaan, a new eight-player Operation, more story details surrounding Darth Malgus, and weapon improvements in the game’s Outfitter system.
As for the bad news, the team at BioWare is saying goodbye to Creative Director Charles Boyd, who will be leaving to take on an unspecified new opportunity. Boyd leaves the SWTOR team after a tenure of 16 years, which has understandably made him misty-eyed about his time working on the MMORPG in a statement.
“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.
“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.”
The announcement doesn’t name a new Creative Director, instead suggesting that leadership of the game will be split among five lead devs: Eric Musco, who moves from Producer to Lead Producer; Ashley Ruhl the new Lead Narrative Director; Lead Writer Caitlin Sullivan Kelly; UX Director Alan Copeland; and Gameplay Design Director George Smith. The announcement also assures that more content for SWTOR is on the horizon, including more planets, storylines, characters, and gameplay features.
