Star Wars’ canon is doing just fine, but one vestige of the old Extended Universe is not only active but also still growing.
BioWare released Star Wars: The Old Republic’s sixth expansion today. Knights of the Eternal Throne. This expansion differs from others as it’s designed isn’t geared to just keeping regular players happy and bringing back lapsed gamers but also attracting new people to EA’s free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game, which first debuted in 2011. The expansion is free.
The story has players taking on the role of the Outlander, and you end up fighting the most powerful family in the ruling Eternal Empire. The expansion also features a new progression system, more challenge modes, and Uprisings, where you and three friends fight enemy factions to earn rare rewards.
The Old Republic is in an interesting place. As Disney continues to add to official Star Wars canon with The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and novels such as Ahsoka, BioWare’s MMO continues to add to the Legends (that’s the old Extended Universe of books, comics, and games) storyline of The Old Republic. In fact, these designers and writers are the only ones added to this old canon.
“Yeah, we’re 3,000-plus years in the past and still using a lot of the old Extended Universe legends. That’s still dialed into our stuff a lot,” creative director Charles Boyd said to GamesBeat in a recent interview.
“This year, it’s even more personal. We’ve raised the stakes for the player as they fight to seize control of the Eternal Throne and rule the galaxy,” said producer Ben Irving. “But that’s not the end of your story. In fact, it’s just the beginning. You must be prepared to make difficult choices along the way to not only take the throne, but also fight to keep it.”