The popular massively multiplayer online role-playing title from Electronic Arts, "Star Wars: The Old Republic," is on a roll yet again. Per reports, Electronic Arts (EA) has confirmed that the global launch date of the Free-to-Play option for "Star Wars: The Old Republic" will be Nov. 15, 2012.
It has been reported that the new release will arrive simultaneously across all of the territories and countries where "The Old Republic" is currently available. This new Free-to-Play option will now allow gamers to play through all of the class storylines through to Level 50, which is the current level cap, at no charge, with the introduction of the new Cartel Market.
"If you're a paying Subscriber at the launch of the Free-to-Play option on November 15th, you will be granted all of the Complimentary Cartel Coins currently listed on your Cartel Coin Ledger page, plus a one-time grant of 250 Complimentary Cartel Coins," the official SWTOR page states.
What's more, the company is also extending the Rewards Program. Now, per new rules, all former subscribers who reactivate their subscription by the new date of Dec. 20, 2012, at 11:59pm CST, will be granted Complimentary Cartel Coins for their prior paid months up to Nov. 15.
The new Free-to-Play option has been in news for quite some time before it finally received a launch date. At that time, the game's lead designed Damion Schubert explained the feature as vividly as possible for the fans and subscribers.
"The first core rule is that we want to be sure that players can reach level 50 without paying a cent, if so desired. The final design meets this requirement: Free-to-Play players can play levels 1 through 50 and enjoy the vast majority of the classic storyline and side quests during their journey," Schubert wrote. "A member of our Marketing team once observed that Star Wars: The Old Republic is roughly 24 times the size of the original Star WarsTM: Knights of the Old RepublicTM game. Well, now BioWare is letting players have all that story content for free! That's not to say there won't be restrictions - Free-to-Play players will earn experience more slowly, for example, and several aspects of the gameplay experience are limited."
Schubert further noted that "If you have friends who love Star WarsTM and the BioWare-style storytelling, but were uneasy about the monthly subscription, or paying $60 up front for the box - well, come mid-November, those concerns should be erased."
He also stated that the SWTOR team has been hard at work developing the Free-to-Play option, and that the team feels like the "Free-to-Play option will be a huge boost for both the game and the community by giving more fans access to the game."
