BioWare's MMO due in 2010/11

By Oli Welsh Published 20 June, 2008

Come on, is it KOTOR or isn't it?

Another snippet here from John Riccitiello's very illuminating talk with the William Blair and Company investor conference earlier this week: the EA chief noted that BioWare's MMO is scheduled to be released in "fiscal 2010" - that is, between April 2010 and April 2011.

This news slipped through the net earlier in the week, but the eagle-eyed Total Video Games picked it up.

In fact, Riccitiello did not mention BioWare, noting only that EA was "funding the MMO in Austin", but given that EA owns BioWare, and BioWare is known to be developing an MMO in its Austin studio, it's quite clear what he was talking about.

The project - which BioWare head Ray Muzyka promises will innovate - has been subjected to repeated on-and-off rumours that it is a Star Wars MMO, possibly based on BioWare's own classic RPG, Knights of the Old Republic. The story was leant credence by recent leaks from LucasArts staff who'd been let go.

However, Riccitiello mentioned the BioWare MMO in the context of "new intellectual property", which clears things up not one bit. Star Wars and KOTOR are hardly new - but then again, they would be new to EA.

2010 may sound like the distant future, but it's actually not that far away. Someone please put us out of our misery on this one soon.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (34) Latest comment 4 years ago

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  • Xerx3s #1 4 years ago

    I guess that this will be the first bioware game that they made in their existence that I won't buy.

  • Vin #2 4 years ago

    Aye, couldn't give a fig about an MMO.

  • muscleblade #3 4 years ago

    "Yes write it off before you even know what it is, or who is making it "

    I think he knows whos making it. Its Bioware. A reason not to write it off though.

  • NewbieZilla #4 4 years ago

    "Yes write it off before you even know what it is, or who is making it
    tool "

    It'd be strange for him not to know what it is or who is making it. The title says BioWare's MMO. So, we know who is making it, and what it is.

  • ChthonicEcho #5 4 years ago

    I bet it's the Mass Effect MMO. Fnar fnar.

    I'm almost positive it won't be a Star Wars MMO. BioWare have been creating their own worlds as of late (Jade Empire, Mass Effect, Dragon Age), so I doubt they'll return to Star Wars after so long. It's wishful thinking.

  • anomagnus #6 4 years ago

    it'll be a sci fi mmo, thats for sure

    I'd love to see a star wars mmo that incorporates a wii like control for saber combat.

    Imagine that!

  • Eraysor #7 4 years ago

    A sci fi MMO is about the only thing that could stop me playing WoW.

  • Mr_Brown #8 4 years ago

    This is an MMO I would definatly buy and possibly one of a few that could realistically compete with WoW. Bioware just know how to make incredible RPG's with broad scope and its only the limit in technology and in the genre itself that has effected the quality of their games. I have high hopes for this. A KOTOR MMO would be epic.

  • orakio #9 4 years ago

    Mass effect online I reckon

  • J.C #10 4 years ago

    2010 not far away? it is 20th june 2008. i would say its a very long wait, for a game that should have been out ages ago. i still say bioware/EA/lucas have made massive mistakes this gen with the starwars games franchise. battlefront 3 and KOTOR 3 have been on gamers wishlists for years.

    Put simply they are fucking idiots.

  • Bleh #11 4 years ago

    Or will it be the Star Trek MMO?

  • hiddenranbir #12 4 years ago

    An EA MMO??

    Hmm, do I really want to invest in that?

  • Wash #13 4 years ago

    Give me a star wars mmo done right and BioWare certainly know how to make a good game.

    I've got a good feeling about this.

  • Razorus #14 4 years ago

    Judging by what Riccitiello said, I don't think this is going to be KOTOR MMO. I have no idea what he means by "new intellectual property" but for some reason it conjures up images of a Tetris MMO, or some other puzzle game, played by millions of people across the world.
    Even if KOTOR is new to EA, I don't think he would have phrased it like that if it was KOTOR MMO. It's bound to happen, as is a single-player KOTOR 3, but this is not it, methinks.

  • Farfarer #15 4 years ago

    I really hope it's not Star Wars :/

    I'd love to see a well done entirely new IP in an MMO for once, and BioWare definitely have the skill to pull that off.

  • Bluetribe #16 4 years ago

    waste of talent, resources and time, GG

  • Redeye #17 4 years ago

    Sure I read somewhere Riccitiello let slip at some corporate shindig that EA and LucasArse are supposed to be co-publishing something...

    And I'm pretty sure Activision's European publishing deal with LA runs out around 2010 as well.

    /goes off to make a cuppa

    (Edited for schpelling mishtks.)
    Edited by 1 at 20/06/08 @ 14:27

  • GamesConnoisseur #18 4 years ago

    Agreed that it looks so unlikely will be Star Wars universe, we could only dream of KOTOR MMO as certainly could have a scope and still do not disrupt the storyline of Star Wars I -VI as set thousands of years before.

    Mass Effect is a good new franchise but doesnt capture the popular imagination the way Star Wars do. Certain BioWare would do a good job as havent really produced any stinkers to date. Jade Empire and Mass Effect do have some issues in game mechanisms but both have a very well realised worlds to immerse in.

    As Farfarer said, Bioware can pull off new IP and that could be better be giving us another rich universe than just reinventing and recycling old stuff we like!

  • gmmonkey #19 4 years ago

    probably 2012-2013, more like. >_< Can someone name a mmorpg that was delivered on estimated time. On top of that, name one bioware game that hasn't been delayed.

  • NewbieZilla #20 4 years ago

    Name one bioware game that has been delayed.

    (Don't say Mass Effect becauseit wasn't. They kept saying they didn't have one until it was officially announced.)
    Edited by 1 at 20/06/08 @ 16:13

  • Agent_Orange #21 4 years ago

    I doubt it will be star wars, as well if made by Bioware it would kill off the sony (i'm not capitalising sony on purpose :p) star wars mmo, and im sure there would be lots of lawsuits etc from sony.

    But yeh maybe some sort of sci fi one, but will be interesting to see what they can bring to the table in an mmo. Would be nice to see real time stuff I guess, ie most users will have broadband by then and decent ping times! Ie fps reaction style gameplay or something :p
    Edited by 1 at 20/06/08 @ 16:13

  • Chalee #22 4 years ago

    KOTOR should not be turned into an MMO. KOTOR's great strenghts were its storytelling and well crafted characters. There's no way you could transpose that level of involved storytelling into an MMO. Just give us a new single player KOTOR title with fantastic graphics, a more immediate combat system, and another fantastic plot, and we'll love you even more than we do if that is possible.

    Do an MMO and we cry.

  • gmmonkey #23 4 years ago

    @agent_orange

    Soe signs a conctract with lucasarts. Lucasarts holds the ip, so sony can't do shit when the contracts up. Besides that games almost dead and is 5 years old.

  • jimr9999us #24 4 years ago

    Bioware has certainly produced some outstanding games; KotOR remains, after Planescape: Torment, the most enjoyable time I've had with a game...

    But

    Bioware is a pretty conservative developer, choosing to remain well inside the lines of established genres.

    So, Dragon Age will debut as a single player game in 2009, and the Dragon Age mmorpg will be released to acclaim in 2011. The same year as Blizzard and THQ battle over the sci-fi market with World of Starcraft and Warhammer 40k. And well before Blizz returns to fantasy with it's tail between its legs with WoW2 in 2014.

    Go Bioware!

  • Jigglybean #25 4 years ago

    Only EA can deliver a MMO to challenge Warcraft. LucasArts need to bring Star Wars to that kind of level, considering the failure that has been Galaxies. Despite efforts to keep the game alive, the low numbers playing now compared to launch are very small (thanks to the NGE back in 2005).

    One of the biggest licences around needs to have some of the biggest numbers - whether it will or not, remains to be seen.

  • hahayou #26 4 years ago

    Two years away? Won't PC be dead by then [/sarcasm]

    Seriously though, anything that far off doesn't really deserve attention IMO, considering the chances of it getting canned/slipping another year/MMOs getting re-classified as class C drugs.

  • Moz #27 4 years ago

    Isn't the the Warhammer 40,000 MMO ment to be out about 2010-2011??? coincidence??

  • zoch #28 4 years ago

    hope they make kotor single player game and not a mmo game also like it to be on the ps3

  • Mudo #29 4 years ago

    I hope to God its not Star Wars. If ever there was a worse fictional universe, I've not seen it

    I've never understood Star Wars' attraction as a universe myself. I guess it might be because it's painted in such broad accessible strokes... but I'm not expert on these things
    Edited by 1 at 21/06/08 @ 16:58

  • Nikalai88 #30 4 years ago

    To make a good MMO you need strong online and technical skills, be proficient in class balance and creating interesting and diverse levelling choices. Bioware games have none of that. Bioware needs to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

  • Lin #31 4 years ago

    Can you imagine a whole MMO entirely jull of Jedi? That would suck! The whole point of being a jedi is that you're special and different from everyone else.

  • orakio #32 4 years ago

    @ Lin,

    And that's why almost everyone ditched star wars galaxies in the various revamps to make the game better.

  • sirtacos #33 4 years ago

    A BioWare-made Star Wars MMO would be interesting, but unless they deal with the 'Jedi problem' (that is, Jedi running around everywhere - or Jedi being a completely inaccessible class - both of which were problems that plagued Star Wars Galaxies), it's a doomed venture, really. Nikalai88, although overly pessimistic, is also right. To make this work, they will need to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

    ...not to mention, to have Jedi running around going "LOLZ", randomly jumping and dancing and generally acting retarded - that won't help with the whole 'immersion' thing BioWare is so keen on establishing.

    Star Wars has many essential elements that can be blessings as well as curses, depending on the way they're handled. The Jedi are just the most obvious one. I honestly think that Star Wars is just about the most difficult universe for an MMO to pull off. I'll give credit to BioWare because they deserve it, and if anyone can make it work, they can - but I'm not optimistic.
    Edited by 1 at 22/06/08 @ 16:12

  • gmmonkey #34 4 years ago

    That's the genius of setting a star wars mmorpg in the kotor timeline. There was an abundance of jedi etc. So, it fits the cannon and makes sense plus the cannon hasn't been fully developed back then. Unlike star wars galaxies which played extensively up until the nge. It was ridiculous watching tons of jedis wandering about mos eisley. I felt embarassed for the star wars brand.