Star Wars: The Old Republic has had quite the long run, and even following Disney’s de-canonization of the original expanded Star Wars lore, it has continued to have a lasting and dedicated fanbase. Originally released in 2011, The Old Republic was created by BioWare Austin and directed by James Ohlen (who despite his time with the game was apparently not the biggest fan of working on it), it launched to massive success, receiving one million subscribers within three days of launching, and despite these numbers declining in the months following said launch, it continued to be a profitable IP.
As mentioned previously, The Old Republic no longer exists in the main Star Wars canon, instead existing within the “Legends” universe, which consists of all the de-canonized material that existed before LucasFilm’s announcement in 2014 that such changes were being made in preparation for the later sequels produced by Disney. As of now, The Old Republic is the only piece of Legends material still receiving updates, which I’m sure has given the writers of the game more narrative freedom in what they can do with the story.
The latest update, 8.0, introduces “Masters of the Force”, which introduces a host of new updates and content to the game. One notable addition is that of Ryloth, the homeworld of the Twi’lek located in the Outer Rim territories, adding it to the host of other worlds that players are able to explore in The Old Republic. Alongside this, new difficulty modes are coming to the game, titled Story, Veteran, and Master Difficulty, giving players more options in how challenging they want the overworld to be. Classic and Venture characters will provide new progression paths as well, and players can expect a level cap increase to 85, Disciplines receiving new abilities, and quality of life improvements. Also excitingly, there will be the new Children of Nul Operation, which has eight players entering a three-boss challenge tied to Darth Nul, who you may recognize as being played by Karlach VA from Baldur’s Gate 3, Samantha Beart.
There’s a lot of new content on the way for The Old Republic fans, and those who are still fond of the Legends universe can look forward to continuing their adventures with the Masters of the Force update, which while lacking an official launch date, will arrive in time.