EA wants to have development of Star Wars: The Old Republic done by a third party

Electronic Arts is considering transferring ongoing development of Star Wars: The Old Republic from BioWare to developer Broadsword Online. This decision should allow BioWare to focus more on the development of Mass Effect and Dragon Age games.

The news was initially brought to you by IGN based on anonymous sources, but in the meantime EA has confirmed in a statement that it is indeed considering having Star Wars: The Old Republic developed by another studio. The publisher writes: “We are currently evaluating how best to grow and evolve the game and its team, which is why discussions are underway with Broadsword, a studio that specializes in delivering community-driven online experiences.”

IGN states that EA has already signed a letter of intent and that the transfer of the game to the new studio is almost certain. This process should be completed sometime this month. It is not clear what this will mean for the mmo in terms of content.

The Star Wars mmorpg in question has been maintained by BioWare since its release in 2011. Meanwhile, around 70 to 80 employees are reportedly still working on the game. Roughly half of that team would move to Broadsword Online. According to sources, the remaining employees will have to find new positions within EA or could possibly be fired.

Broadsword Online Games is a developer that mainly deals with MMOs. The company is currently responsible for Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot. Unlike EA studio BioWare, the studio is in principle independent, although the companies have a shared history. Broadsword was founded by ex-employees of Mythic Entertainment, which was an Electronic Arts studio that originally developed Dark Age of Camelot. Mythic Entertainment was also temporarily merged into BioWare Mythic before continuing under its original name.