A Star Wars: The Old Republic Steam version has launched, much to the surprise of its fans. You can finally enjoy this free-to-play Star Wars MMO on Steam for the first time ever.
ResetEra noted that the release popped up rather quickly on Steam, seemingly with no advance announcement whatsoever. Star Wars: The Old Republic has been around for quite a while, and many of the users are expressing surprise that the game was still operating even today.
Fans who were still playing the game, however, had a bit of a hint that a Star Wars: The Old Republic Steam release was planned for the near future. A machine-translated article from German gaming site Mein MMO highlights a tweet which noticed something very suspicious in the game’s files a couple of weeks ago:
So, #SWTOR is coming to #Steam soon then or…? @musco @Charles_Boyd @SWTOR #Swtorfamily pic.twitter.com/YWk78M4pus
— Star Wars Central (@StarWarsCent) July 6, 2020
In the highlighted tweet, a file named “steam_api.dll” can be seen in the install director for Star Wars: The Old Republic. This particular file is included with most apps on Steam and is a dead giveaway that a Steam release is likely coming soon.
Just over two weeks later, the Star Wars: The Old Republic Steam release was here. Did I mention that this game was developed by BioWare, the same people who brought us the KOTOR games and Mass Effect?
If you haven’t yet played the game, you can jump into it pretty easily — it is, after all, a free-to-play title. That said, a few people on the ResetEra thread mention that you should buy a one-month subscription if you can. Purchasing such a subscription will unlock several permanent bonuses for your account which won’t go away, even if you stop subscribing.
As with most free-to-play games, Star Wars: The Old Republic has a premium currency and all sorts of microtransactions. You should expect to see a storefront and the opportunity to buy some extras whether you’re a free-to-play gamer or a paid subscriber.
Still, many have fond memories of this classic MMORPG. With nearly a decade of development under its belt, this latest release makes for as good a time as any to hop into the game. You can play the Star Wars: The Old Republic Steam release for free right now.
