Although it launched to great fanfare, it's clear that The Old Republic is struggling. Electronic Arts revealed a startling drop of 25 percent of its subscriber base since launch, and has since announced layoffs at BioWare Austin, the team behind the expensive MMO. But, how dire is the situation, really?

One dedicated fan wanted to find out exactly how many people are on The Old Republic's servers. "What is going to happen when server transfers go live," SWTOR user Scorpienne asked. "How many people are on which servers?"

Read more: 'The best single player game on the market' »

Does your virtual garage in Forza 4 feel a bit empty? Would some Porsches make you feel better? New DLC will let you spend your hard-earned Microsoft Points for some sweet new rides. Then, Star Wars: The Old Republic continues to struggle. Today, EA announced layoffs at BioWare Austin, the team working on the MMO. Finally, some different MMO news: Marvel Heroes is formally revealed.

Check out today's episode of Shacknews Daily.

Watch: Shacknews Daily: May 22, 2012 »

Perhaps this news was inevitable, given the struggles high-profile MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic has faced since launch. Publisher Electronic Arts has announced plans to "restructure" BioWare Austin, weeks after announcing a subscriber loss of nearly 25 percent. In a statement to Shacknews, the publisher said: "BioWare has restructured its studio in Austin today. Of the employees impacted, some will be able to join other projects within EA, others will leave the company. These are very difficult decisions, but it allows us to focus our staff to maintain and grow Star Wars: The Old Republic."

Read more: EA will support SWTOR for 'years to come' »

BioWare and Electronic Arts are planning yet another attempt to harness more new blood to populate Star Wars: The Old Republic. Starting this Thursday, May 17 at 12:01 AM CDT, the MMOs latest Weekend Pass Free Trial will be open to all those who haven't participated in any previous trials for the game set long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Read more: 'Laugh it up, fuzzball,' for free »

Star Wars: The Old Republic subscribers see a massive drop. What does that mean for the fate of BioWare and EA's ambitious MMO set in a galaxy far, far away? Then, care for some PS3 games for a dollar? How about some of the best games available on the platform? The PixelJunk series celebrates its anniversary with a dollar sale. Finally, we take a look at Spec Ops: The Line. The demo is now available on PS3 and Xbox 360, and coming soon to PC.

Check out today's episode of Shacknews Daily.

Watch: Shacknews Daily: May 8, 2012 »

Star Wars: The Old Republic has seen a dramatic loss in subscribers, moving from 1.7 million users in February to 1.3 million users at the end of March. In a conference call, Electronic Arts said the loss of 400K users was due to the drop-off of casual and trial users after the game's first billing cycle.

While the situation may seem dire for the ambitious online game, EA emphasized that the 1.3 million base users fell within the expectation the company had when it purchased BioWare back in 2007. The company also reiterated that TOR is still "profitable" and the number two MMO on the market.

Read more: The blueprints for fun battles are definitely there »

As with every online game, Star Wars: The Old Republic must constantly offer something new for subscribers to come back to. While the 1.2 update ("Legacy") launched only a month ago, Electronic Arts and BioWare have announced plans for the next content update, titled "Allies."

Little else is known about the update, other than it will be available in EA's fiscal "Q1" time frame--or before the end of June.

Read more: Active subscribers drop to 1.3 million »

Lighter server populations--especially during peak hours--have led some to believe that Star Wars: The Old Republic is shedding subscribers only four months after launch. Not so, says developer BioWare. Subscription numbers are steady, it claims, but the developer does concede that the game has seen a dip in logins. To that end, the BioWare is up for trying "anything and everything" to increase user engagement.

Read more: 'Nothing is off the table' »

Looking increasingly desperate, or perhaps considerate, BioWare has expanded its offer of 30 days free game time for Star Wars: The Old Republic players. Initially only offered to those with a character that's hit the level cap of 50, the free time will now be given to those who've hit level 6 in SWTOR's new Legacy system.

Read more: More time to hit that goal too »

Star Wars: The Old Republic seems to have faded from the collective gamer consciousness a bit. Not coincidentally, BioWare has announced various perks coming alongside the new Legacy 1.2 update, which seem squarely aimed at attracting new players and bringing old ones back into the fold.

Read more: 30 days free for level 50s »

Remember when Leia "knew" she was related to Luke, brother and sister separated across the stars? All your Star Wars: The Old Republic alts can get that same feeling when you are able to "relate" them through the new Legacy system in update 1.2, which finally comes out tomorrow.

Read more: From family trees to UI customization »

Electronic Arts is awfully keen for you to try Star Wars: The Old Republic. After holding several free trial weekends, BioWare's midichlorian-powered MMORPG has now doled out heaps more friend trial invites to every player, going from a limit of three to a whopping 25.

Read more: Play for seven days to level 15 »

If you missed Star Wars: The Old Republic's free trial last weekend and fancy giving it a go, then good news! BioWare's boldly-going MMORPG is kicking off another extended weekend free trial tonight, but only for people who haven't played it yet.

Read more: Limited to level 15 »

We're debuting our new video news show today, Shacknews Daily. As the name implies, we're shooting to put it out every day of the week. As we ramp up to that pace, we wanted to show you what we've got working so far and start getting your feedback. Expect to see a couple of these a week, and we'll increase from there up to three, four, and ultimately hit every weekday.

In this first episode, we cover PvP arenas being cut from Diablo III for release, Star Wars: the Old Republic offering a free trial this weekend, and a look at the Close Quarters DLC coming to Battlefield 3 in June.

Watch: Bright skies and eerie interiors »

BioWare and EA's latest MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic, has over 1.7 million active subscribers. But a new promotional offer may bring that number even higher.

This Thursday, The Old Republic will have its very first "Weekend Pass Free Trial." This promotion will give newcomers to the game a chance to play for up to four days for free, with no payment method required.

Read more: Trial runs from Thursday to Monday »