The update is called "Star Wars Galaxies Galactic Civil War: Forces Under Siege". According to a press release from LucasArts, the update features "...new, massive invasion warfare scenarios in three major cities." Returning players can play for free from February 1st until March 1st, and account reactivation is automatic when the player logs in. Those who resubscribe during the free-to-play period will receive a special in-game painting as a bonus.

It's nice to see that even though BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic is poised to assume the Star Wars MMORPG mantle in Spring of 2011, fans of LucasArts' Star Wars Galaxies are still getting some love.

The summary of new gameplay features is included below.

New Gameplay
• Cities will display Imperial or Rebel banners and faction-specific NPCs, quests, terminals and pylons depending on which faction is in control.
• Added support for Factional Mercenaries. Neutral players can align themselves with either faction to participate in city conflicts and earn rewards.
• Mayors of player cities are able to set their city's factional alignment from the management terminal.
• Fight battles within newly implemented Planetary Regions to determine which faction controls a planet.

New Interactive Structures
• Defend cities by manning barricades and building defensive turrets.
• Assault enemy cities and take out defense structures and key enemy personnel with the might of AT-AT or Hailfire missile attacks.

All New Profession-Based Quests
• Contribute to the battle with profession-specific quests that let players bolster defending or invading forces.
• Improve and repair defensive structures, revive fallen soldiers, heal fatigue, entertain demoralized troops, slice terminals, scout and sabotage patrol points, and more.

Epic New Rewards
• Battle-specific quests such as manning barricades, building turrets and treating wounded soldiers, now grant tokens that can be cashed in for new rewards, including: faction-specific clothing including capes, cloaks and battle-scarred armor; Entertainer glow sticks; bombing-run binoculars; an upgraded personal shield generator and multiple new weapons