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SWTOR level cap going up, free trial announced

BioWare teases the year ahead.

The Star Wars: The Old Republic level cap will rise this year, BioWare has announced at E3.

BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka also announced that a new free trial, playable up to level 15, will launch in July.

He didn't say what the level cap was rising to, but there will be new combat abilities added to specialise your even-more-powerful character with.

Also coming this year will be a new version of hardcore nightmare difficulty. There'll be a new companion in combat droid HK-51, a new playable species, an enhanced group finder and ranked PVP.

A new planet called Makeb will be added, which has storylines based around the fierce Hutt cartel.

A new Warzone called Ancient Hyperspace is on its way, as is a new Operation called Terror from Beyond. A new Space Mission called Space Station Assault is also on its way.

Muzyka wants BioWare to "set a new standard for a premium MMO" content, both in pace and quality. But will it be enough to bring the lost subscribers back? We'll see.