If games have taught me anything, it’s that when life hands you lemons, you make those lemons into free-to-play lemonade with extra delicious garnishes for paying customers. In this case, BioWare and Electronic Arts have finally taken Star Wars: The Old Republic from its subscription model to free-to-play.
The change came today alongside the 1.5 update, which adds new locations, adventures, and game modes. According to a post from Executive Producer Jeff Hickman, “Free-to-Play players can now play all eight classes up to level 50 without committing to a monthly fee.” But don’t worry: you can still spend money. Why not visit the Cartel Market, where you can buy those axes the pig soldiers in Return of the Jedi used? You can also purchase “unlocks for Free-to-Play restrictions” while you’re there.
Not everyone has been thrilled with the model Bioware are using for their F2P model, but they have their reasons. It will be interesting to see whether this change can turn things around for The Old Republic, which so far has been more of a cautionary tale than anything else.