LucasArts, as publisher, and BioWare, as developer, have teamed up again to produce a massively multiplayer online successor to their previous collaborative effort, The Knights of the Old Republic.

The Old Republic takes place 3,600 years before the rise of Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire and about 300 years after KOTOR II. The Sith Empire, previously on the verge of collapse has been reinvigorated and returns to wage war upon the Old Republic.

Players will have the ability to play as part of the Galactic Republic or the Sith Empire. Within those two factions will be various classes for players to choose from. So far, the only classes confirmed are Jedi and Sith, which will allow players to wield lightsabers and force powers. The Old Republic will include “dozens” of world, according to their press announcement. Mentioned planets include Coruscant, Korriban (The Sith homeworld), Alderaan, and Utapau.

BioWare, developers of critically acclaimed titles Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, and Baldur’s Gate I and II, claim to already have more story content available for The Old Republic than their previous efforts. Typically, MMOs such as World of Warcraft or EVE Online, are, by nature of their gameplay, light on context regarding their respective universe. The news that BioWare intends to provide ample amounts of story and narrative within The Old Republic should be good news to fans of the KOTOR series.

The Old Republic is currently announced only for the PC. More information can be found here, at Gamespot, and here, at the official LucasArts website.

Please discuss Star Wars: The Old Republic in our official Save Point thread, here.

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