Star Wars: The Old Republic is now Free-to-Play

Star Wars: The Old Republic had a lot to live up to. Not only did it have to function as a fully modern MMORPG, it also had to please the fans of one of the most revered RPGs of the past decade: Knights of the Old Republic.  We here at GamingTrend loved it for it’s huge story and vast amount of content, but player activity has flagged since the game launched, in part due to the hefty fee charged each month.

To breathe new life into the game’s community, Bioware and EA removed the monthly fee, giving gamers a chance to play the game all the way to the game’s level cap.  According to EA:

Players can experience the complete storylines of all eight, iconic Star Wars™ classes, all the way to level 50 for free. This new option complements the existing subscription offering, providing players with maximum flexibility in how they choose to experience Star Wars: The Old Republic.

“We want to give our players the freedom to enjoy Star Wars: The Old Republic when and how they want,” said Matthew Bromberg, General Manager of BioWare Austin. “There has never been a better time to start playing with us.”

While there are no storyline or class restrictions, dedicated players may still want to pay the monthly fee.  The restrictions on the unpaid version aren’t tyrannical, but there are some important things that you gain for paying the fee– log-in priority, access to the specialized chat channels, expanded functionality for the in-game mail client, and the ability to sprint before level 15 among others.

Even with those restrictions, this is a vast amount of content that costs the user no money whatsoever.  I know I’ll be giving the Old Republic a chance, now that I don’t have anything to lose.