Loading game...
Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) is a story-driven MMORPG originally created by BioWare and launched in December 2011. Development transitioned to Broadsword Online Games in 2023, with Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm Games continuing as partners.
Set thousands of years before the Star Wars films, SWTOR combines fully voiced cinematic conversations with traditional MMO combat, planets, Flashpoints, Operations, PvP, crafting, player housing, and companion systems. It is free to start on Windows, with a native Apple-silicon Mac client currently offered as an open beta.
The Galactic Republic offers Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Trooper, and Smuggler origins, while the Sith Empire offers Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter, and Imperial Agent. Each origin has its own opening planets, companions, conversations, and class campaign before later expansions converge into shared storylines.
Dialogue choices can change immediate outcomes, companion approval, romances, and a character's Light or Dark alignment. Combat Styles separate combat mechanics from story origin more than the original launch system did; subscribers can access a second Combat Style, while free accounts use one.
Game Update 7.9.1, Light and Shadow, is the live version as reviewed on August 29, 2026. Galactic Season 11 began August 18. Earlier in 2026, Master's Enigma continued the Legacy of the Sith story in March, and Legacy Reborn concluded that expansion arc in June.
SWTOR reaches its fifteenth anniversary in December 2026. Broadsword continues to publish seasonal events, class balance changes, Cartel Market additions, Galactic Seasons, and Public Test Server phases while preparing the next major era.
Masters of the Force is announced and in Public Test Server development; it is not the live game update yet. Its planned features include the Galaxy in Chaos storyline, the planet Ryloth, selectable Story, Veteran, and Master difficulty across overworld content, Classic and Expert Ventures, and the three-boss Children of Nul Operation.
The update is also planned to raise the level cap to 85, add abilities across Disciplines, revise gearing and levelling, and deliver further quality-of-life changes. Broadsword has described a months-long testing cycle, so release details should be checked against the official news page rather than treated as a fixed date.
Flashpoints are repeatable group story missions, while Operations provide larger raid encounters in multiple difficulty modes. PvP includes objective-based Warzones and Arena matches, with rotating PvP seasons and reward tracks.
Strongholds provide customisable player housing on several planets. Crew Skills let companions gather materials, craft items, and run missions while the player continues questing. Galactic Seasons add account-wide objectives and reward tracks that encourage revisiting older planets and activities.
Free-to-play accounts can reach level 60 and access the eight origin stories, Rise of the Hutt Cartel, and Shadow of Revan, but have restrictions on credits, character slots, trading, and other systems. Preferred status is granted to former subscribers and players who have purchased Cartel Coins, reducing some restrictions.
Subscribers receive all current expansion access, a higher credit cap, more character slots, two Combat Styles, subscriber Galactic Season rewards, and a monthly Cartel Coin grant. EA states that expansion content released through the subscription period remains permanently available after the account returns to Preferred status.
SWTOR is unusual among MMORPGs because its original levelling experience is structured like eight BioWare campaigns. Branching conversations, companions, romances, faction-specific planets, lightsaber combat, and Star Wars locations make the journey valuable even for players who rarely engage with raid progression.
Yes. Update 7.9.1 is live, Galactic Season 11 began in August, and Update 8.0 is undergoing Public Test Server development ahead of SWTOR's fifteenth anniversary.
No. Masters of the Force has been announced and parts of it are on the Public Test Server, but Update 7.9.1 remains the live version as of August 29, 2026.
Free accounts can play the eight origin stories and the Rise of the Hutt Cartel and Shadow of Revan expansions up to level 60. Later expansions and unrestricted account features require subscription access.
EA states that subscribers retain permanent access to expansion content released up to and during their subscription period after reverting to Preferred status. Subscriber-only account benefits end when the subscription expires.
Yes through the official Mac open beta on Apple-silicon M-series Macs running macOS 14 Sonoma or newer. Intel Macs are not supported by that client.