Bioware finally confirms it will hand over control of the Galaxy Star Wars: The Old Republic Go to Broadsword, the Ultima Online studio.
General manager Gary McKay broke the news today in a letter to players on the Bioware blog — which pretty much everyone already knows.
EA will remain the publisher, McKay said, with development of the game handing over to boutique studio Broadsword, with team members from both studios joining forces to ensure “the world and the community continue to thrive and thrive.”
Players can expect all current development plans to remain in place, with new features planned for the future.
Most of the current SWTOR team will be invited to work on the Broadsword game, along with Executive Producer Keith Kanneg. For those who don’t, EA will support those affected by the SWTOR switch and have the opportunity to find new characters within EA.
“In the long run, we believe this is the best decision for the game and its community,” McKay said. “We at BioWare will miss being a part of SWTOR’s future story. But we also know it will be well taken care of.”
With SWTOR off the roster, Bioware now has more time to focus on Dragon Age and Mass Effect. For Dragon Age, the team plans to continue “building, polishing, and tweaking” the game, with the Mass Effect team continuing pre-production.
