Star Wars: The Old Republic 'major update' due every six weeks

Faced with a dwindling user base, Star Wars: The Old Republic recently announced it will switch to a free-to-play model. But even F2P MMOs need a steady stream of players to support them, which may be why BioWare has promised an update roughly every six weeks for the game.

"We're committed to: about every six weeks, doing a major update for the game -- which would be a new Warzone, a new Operation, a new Flashpoint, a new event -- and to doing that on a really frequent cadence, every six weeks. So we’re going to stick to that," BioWare Austin general manager Matt Bromberg told AusGamers.

Bromberg also reiterated the incentive for players to come back. "Subscribers who have lapsed are already qualified to get Cartel Coins, which will be the in-game currency in the game once free-to-play launches," he said. "So you get credit, not just for becoming a subscriber now, going forward, but also for all the time that you were a subscriber, you get more credits and more coin. So we're hoping that that will encourage people to come back to the game and try it now."

The Old Republic was a big investment for EA, and despite a positive reception the game struggled to maintain subscribers. A free-to-play option seemed inevitable, but only time will tell if the pricing model ignites enough interest to keep it going long-term.