Star Wars: FOTOR Release Date and Evolution: A Comprehensive Overview

The story takes place in the Star Wars universe shortly after the establishment of a tenuous peace between the re-emergent Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic. The game features eight different classes, each with a three act storyline that progresses as the character levels up. Players join either the Republic or the Sith Empire, but players may possess a morality at any point along the light/dark spectrum. Although not officially disclosed, based on estimates, it is one of the most developmentally expensive games ever made. The game had one million subscribers within three days of its launch, making it the world's "fastest-growing MMO ever"; however, in the following months the game lost a fair share of its subscriptions, but has remained profitable.

The game has since adopted the hybrid free-to-play business model with remaining subscription option. The game was met with positive reception upon release and has received several updates and expansion packs. Several books and comics based on the game have been released. It is estimated that the game made $139 million in additional revenues on top of the subscription income in 2013. Since its release, the game has received multiple expansions as well as significant technical and graphical updates.

During these events, a smuggler named Nico Okarr is led to his prison cell in a jail orbiting Korriban by a Jedi, Satele Shan, and her master, Kao Cen Darach. Suddenly, a Sith named Darth Malgus, and his master Vindican, along with several Sith troops, attack the base. Satele, a trooper named Jace Malcom, and Okarr escape the attack, but Darach is cut down by Malgus. Ten years later, new conflicts have arisen. In the "Hope" cinematic trailer, Satele and some troops destroy a Sith party that includes Malgus. Malcom, who has become the troop's commander, states that, despite the losses, there is still hope amongst even "a single spark of courage". Master Satele Shan is named the new Jedi Grand Master. The game itself is set in the cold-war soon after these events, with the Jedi Order and Galactic Republic struggling to maintain their control of the core worlds while the Sith plot their downfall and the expansion of the Sith Empire.

BioWare stated, prior to release, that the game would have a significant focus on the storyline. Each of the eight classes has a three act storyline that progresses as the character levels up. Players join as members of either of the two main factions - the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. Although each faction is led by a benevolent or malevolent leader, it is emphasized that an individual member may possess a morality at any point along the light/dark spectrum. Player advancement occurs by a combination of mission completion, exploration, and defeating enemies. New skills are learned automatically. Players' choices permanently open or close storylines and affect players' non-player character (NPC) companions. It is intended that the game should provide more context for characters' missions than any previous MMORPG. Every character in the game, including the player character, features full voice dialog to enhance gameplay, and interactions feature a dialogue system similar to that used in the Mass Effect series.

Players are able to choose from a variety of NPCs, although spending time with a single companion will help more in developing story and content than dividing time among several, and may even develop a love interest. It is possible for players to "blow it big time" if they fail to meet NPCs' expectations. Players also have access to several planets, including Korriban, Ord Mantell, Nal Hutta, Tython, Coruscant, Balmorra, Alderaan, Tatooine, Dromund Kaas, Taris, Belsavis, Voss, Hoth, Corellia, Ilum, and Quesh, and the moon Nar Shaddaa. Every player receives their own starship, which was announced at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010. Footage of space combat was released at Gamescom. The short clip provided by BioWare revealed that space combat would be a "tunnel shooter".

A tunnel shooter, otherwise known as a scrolling shooter or rail shooter, is a flying game where the player is on a predetermined track. Game play includes moving right and left on the X axis and up and down on the Y axis; however, players do not have control of the speed of their space craft. Jake Neri, LucasArts Producer, told PC Gamer that their goal was to "capture the most cinematic moments that we can create. We want players to get in and feel like they're in the movies. It's about highly cinematic, controlled combat moments." A range of playable species are available for the player to choose from, some limited to their factions. Both sides can play Human, Cyborg, Twi'lek or Zabrak. The Republic-only races are the Miraluka and Mirialan, while the Empire-only races are the Chiss, Rattataki and Sith Pureblood. More playable species are said to be available in the future through major updates and the Legacy system with the ability to use other classes' abilities through this system.

The Cathar were added to the game during Patch 2.1, and is available to all players who unlock the species through the Cartel Market. The Togruta race was announced in January 2015 as a new playable race and released in the same year with patch 3.3. The release of the expanded "Legacy" system in April 2012 allows for species to be able to play all classes (both Empire and Republic) by unlocking that species with an infusion of in-game money or by levelling a character of that race to level 50. Under this system, for example, a player may choose Chiss, which by default can only choose the non-Sith classes on the Empire side, as a new Sith character. Likewise, a Sith Pureblood, which by default can only choose the Force-powered classes, could choose to be a non-Force class. Both species, which are restricted to the Empire, could even choose the option of fighting for the Republic, including training as a Jedi. Each faction contains different classes, each with a distinct backstory and a branching storyline affected by players' moral choices. Classes are exclusive to one faction or the other. However, the classes of one faction mirror the classes of the other.

Eight core classes and their paths

Eight classes exist: the Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Trooper, and Smuggler for the Galactic Republic; and the Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter, and Imperial Agent for the Sith Empire. Each class may also choose from two advanced classes, resulting in a total of 8 advanced classes per faction. Advanced classes share the same storyline as their base class. As of the Legacy of the Sith expansion, players are now allowed to separate their Class Story from their Advanced Classes, which are now called "Combat Styles". Each class has their own starship, which serves as the player's base of operations. Bounty Hunters have the D5-Mantis patrol craft. Sith Warriors and Sith Inquisitors have the Fury. Imperial Agents have the X-70B Phantom. Smugglers have the XS Freighter. Troopers have the BT-7 Thunderclap. Jedi Knights and Jedi Consulars have the Defender.

The game features a passive form of crafting, known as Crew Skills, in which a player's companions carry out gathering and crafting tasks asynchronously to the player's adventures out in the world. Each class gets five companions via their storyline. The player can assign up to five companions to perform up to 3 various skills. Crafting skills allow the player's companions to create items, and the player can reverse engineer many items to possibly learn to make a better version. Gathering skills allow the player or their companions to gather resources out in the world.

During E3 2011, a video was shown with gameplay footage of the Bounty Hunter, along with a Jawa companion named Blizz. The developers stated that only the Bounty Hunter would be able to get Blizz and that other classes would have unique companions as well, including some companions that are force users. BioWare announced same-sex romance options with companions or other NPCs before release. The options were implemented for some non-companions in Rise of the Hutt Cartel, and expanded with Shadow of Revan. During patch 1.5, HK-51 was added for all classes on both Empire and Republic factions. He was the first companion added to every class, and can be obtained through a questline. A female Ewok companion, Treek, was implemented in patch 2.3 and is available to all classes.

The Old Republic is BioWare's first entry into the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) market, and is the third Star Wars MMORPG after Star Wars Galaxies and Clone Wars Adventures. The game's first cinematic trailer, "Deceived", was shown at E3 2009. A public live demo followed at Gamescom, and several other trailers, patches, and updates followed through 2012 and beyond. The game transitioned to a hybrid monetization model and continued to evolve with major expansions like Rise of the Hutt Cartel and Galactic Starfighter, among others. In later years, after a transition to Broadsword Online Games, the title underwent significant technical overhauls including a shift to a 64-bit client and DirectX 12 support, with ongoing visual and performance improvements.

In October 2025, a major reveal at The Game Awards introduced Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, a new entry in the saga. The public trailer suggested a continuation of the saga after KOTOR era events, with a notable nod to familiar figures and a potential link to later installments. Release timing remains speculative, with industry pundits hinting at alignment with broader franchise milestones in the late 2020s.

As of 2025, Star Wars: The Old Republic continues to generate substantial revenue through a combination of optional subscriptions, in-game purchases, and content expansions. The legacy of its storytelling, character relationships, and space combat has kept a dedicated player base and ongoing development momentum.

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