Growing Player Base, High Quality Service and New Game Updates Drive
Successful Start for the Critically-Acclaimed MMO from BioWare and
LucasArts
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Just six weeks after launching one of the most anticipated videogames of
all time, BioWare™, a Label of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA), is
continuing to set new standards in online games with Star Wars™:
The Old Republic™. Already the fastest growing subscription MMO ever, Star
Wars: The Old Republic has sold over 2 million copies, with a
thriving base of over 1.7 million active subscribers, as gamers around
the world have immersed themselves in the story-driven, online Star
Wars universe from BioWare and LucasArts. Helping drive The Old
Republic's early success has been the quality and reliability of the
game's service, with servers being available for more than 99.5% of the
time outside of scheduled maintenance. BioWare has also delivered on the
promise of continually adding new content by releasing Rise of the
Rakghouls, which added new, higher level group content, less than 30
days after launch. The next game update, featuring even more content,
new game systems and additional guild features, is scheduled to be
released in Spring 2012.
"We're truly honored and humbled by the incredibly strong support from
our players who are enjoying Star Wars: The Old Republic," said
Dr. Ray Muzyka, Co-Founder of BioWare and General Manager of EA's
BioWare Label. "Our entire team worked very hard over the holidays to
deliver a smooth experience at launch, and the resulting response to the
game from our fans and critics has been exceptionally gratifying."
Added Dr. Greg Zeschuk, Co-Founder of BioWare and General Manager of the
BioWare MMO Business Unit: "But we're not resting! We're actively
listening to our community for ongoing feedback to help us ensure the
game and service continue to improve, and we're working to deliver
spectacular new high quality content on a regular cadence going forward."
Player engagement for Star Wars: The Old Republic has not slowed
since launch, as the community achieved the following incredible
gameplay milestones in just over one month since launch:
-
Over 239 million in-game hours, or over 332,000 months and over 27,000
years of in-game time
-
Over 20 billion NPCs killed
-
Over 148 billion credits spent
Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the most critically
acclaimed MMOs of all time, having won MSNBC's "Game of the Year" award,
"Editor's Choice" awards from IGN, PC Gamer and "Best MMO of 2011"
awards from Game Informer, Gamespy.com, Massively, Ten Ton Hammer and
more. The game is set thousands of years before the classic Star Wars movies,
with the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire locked in the middle of an
epic, galactic war. Players choose one of eight iconic Star Wars character
classes, including the Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler, Trooper,
Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter and Imperial Agent,
becoming the hero or villain of their own personal Star Wars saga.
Included with the purchase of every copy of Star Wars: The Old
Republic is 30 days of access to the game, after which players can
continue to play through subscribing* at either $14.99 per month, $41.97
for 3 months ($13.99 per month), or $77.94 for six months ($12.99 per
month).
For more information on Star Wars: The Old Republic, please visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com,
follow the game on Twitter at http://twitter.com/swtor
or "Like" Star Wars: The Old Republic on Facebook at http://facebook.com/starwarstheoldrepublic.
*Subscription pricing in the United Kingdom will be £8.99 per month,
£25.17 for three months (£8.39 per month) or £46.14 for six months
(£7.69 per month). Subscription pricing in Europe will be €12.99 per
month, €35.97 for three months (€11.99 per month) or €65.94 for six
months (€10.99 per month).
About Lucasfilm Ltd.
Lucasfilm Ltd. is one of the world's leading film and entertainment
companies. Founded by George Lucas in 1971, it is a privately held,
fully-integrated entertainment company. In addition to its
motion-picture and television production operations, the company's
global activities include Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound,
serving the digital needs of the entertainment industry for
visual-effects and audio post-production; LucasArts, a leading developer
and publisher of interactive entertainment software worldwide; Lucas
Licensing, which manages the global merchandising activities for
Lucasfilm's entertainment properties; Lucasfilm Animation, which is
currently producing content for film and television, including Star
Wars: The Clone Wars, a CG-animated half-hour television series; and
Lucas Online creates Internet-based content for Lucasfilm's
entertainment properties and businesses. Additionally, Lucasfilm
Singapore produces digital animated content for film and television, as
well as visual effects for feature films and multi-platform games.
Lucasfilm's motion-picture productions include three of the 20 biggest
box-office hits of all time and have received 19 Oscars and more than 60
Academy Award nominations. Lucasfilm's television projects have won 12
Emmy Awards. Lucasfilm Ltd. is headquartered in San Francisco, Calif.
LucasArts, a Lucasfilm Ltd. company, is a leading developer and
publisher of interactive entertainment software worldwide for video game
console systems, computers and the Internet. Based in San Francisco,
Calif., as well as on the Internet at www.lucasarts.com,
LucasArts was created in 1982 by George Lucas to provide an interactive
element to his vision of a state-of-the-art, multifaceted entertainment
company.
About BioWare
The BioWare Label is a division of EA which crafts high quality
multiplatform role-playing, MMO and strategy games, focused on
emotionally engaging, rich stories with unforgettable characters and
vast worlds to discover. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the
world's most critically acclaimed titles and franchises, including Baldur's
Gate™, Neverwinter Nights™, Star Wars®: Knights of
the Old Republic™, Jade Empire™, Mass Effect™ and Dragon
Age™. BioWare currently operates in eight locations across the
world, including Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Montreal (Quebec, Canada),
Austin (Texas), Fairfax (Virginia), San Francisco (California), Los
Angeles (California), Sacramento (California) and Galway (Ireland).
In 2008, BioWare was acquired by Electronic Arts, a leading global
interactive entertainment publisher. In 2011 EA created the BioWare
Label, alongside EA Games, EA SPORTS™ and EA Play. For more information
on BioWare, visit www.bioware.com,
or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bioware.
To join the millions of fans already registered with the BioWare
community, go to http://social.bioware.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) is a global leader in digital interactive
entertainment. The Company's game franchises are offered as both
packaged goods products and online services delivered through
Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and
tablets. EA has more than 100 million registered players and operates in
75 countries.
In fiscal 2011, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.6 billion.
Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for
critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster franchises such as The
Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield, and Mass
Effect™. More information about EA is available at http://info.ea.com.
LucasArts, the LucasArts logo, STAR WARS and related
properties are trademarks in the United States and/or in other countries
of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. © 2012 Lucasfilm Entertainment
Company Ltd. or Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. BioWare, and the
BioWare logo are trademarks of EA International (Studio and Publishing)
Ltd. EA and the EA logo are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Electronic Arts
Alana Logan, 512-287-7732
Publicist
alogan@bioware.com
Andrew
Wong, 650-628-2781
Director of PR
anwong@ea.com
Source: Electronic Arts
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