Do you think the game is coming to an end?

[ClaytonL]

I wasn't saying its dying the game sucks Im not one of those people personally I love this game i play it everyday I just wanted to know how others feel.

 

i know you didn't...

 

it was just meant as an example..

 

since 4 years people are saying this game is going to die, and it is still here....

 

i just don't see the game die any time soon because is think they still generate money over subscriptions and CC market. Warhammer online , worked on an Free to play and shop system and never released it... subscriptions only couldn't make up for it and the game was shut down.

 

this game is still alive and will be for years to come (i guess) because it has the brand "Star Wars" written over its head.

[peter_plankskull]

Honestly I'm surprised a thread like this has gone on this long without a post from Bran or JMCA.

 

Maybe there phone is charging???

[KorbanShepard]

Yeah, IMO this is the only thing to legitimately worry about, this is the doom that looms over SWTOR future is the fact that Disney is not in on it - and they seem to run a tight ship and keep everything in house. SWTOR stands out like a sore thumb im sure to them.

 

lol, the new Star Wars game.

[DarthDymond]

...must be Tuesday.

 

I just can't wrap my head around using the term 'maintenance mode' to describe a game that has just started a new content release model that involves putting out a new chapter of story content every month, and has announced a brand new PVE feature (Eternal Championship), a new Warzone, and a new Arena.

 

I totally understand someone saying "I don't like the content they are putting out" or even "they still aren't putting out enough content to keep me interested", but 'maintenance mode' applies when a game has effectively stopped putting out content, and that's just not the case here.

 

I know OP doesn't want this to be a 'doom and gloom' thread, but this does still seem like a song we've heard before around here:

 

 

Mid 2013 on the Forums:

Is SWTOR Dying? Where are the Updates?

SWTOR Dying?

 

2013 Data: SWTOR one of the Top 5 MMOs of 2013

 

Mid 2014 on the Forums:

Game is dying, needs cross server Q's

SWTOR is dying. Full rage: ON

 

2014 Data: SWTOR one of 5 MMOs making more than $100 Million Annually

 

Mid 2015 on the Forums:

Is SWTOR's time finally up?

Is the game going through some sort of decline?

 

EA's July-Sept 2015 Fiscal Report: "Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ subscribers increased 33%"

EA's Oct-Dec 2015 Fiscal Report: "STAR WARS™: The Old Republic grew to its highest subscriber level in nearly three years."

 

Edited February 17, 2016 by DarthDymond

[TheOnyxHero]

Yeah, IMO this is the only thing to legitimately worry about, this is the doom that looms over SWTOR future is the fact that Disney is not in on it - and they seem to run a tight ship and keep everything in house. SWTOR stands out like a sore thumb im sure to them.

 

Disney signed an exclusive deal to EA for Star Wars gaming rights that lasts 10 years. I wouldn't be worried.

 

These threads are common in every MMO. No, this game isn't going anywhere. No they aren't rebooting or making a new Star Wars MMO.

 

Hopefully though, they get more power behind this MMO instead of cutting down the team and pruning content.

Edited February 17, 2016 by TheOnyxHero

[Nytehisagi]

kindly remember 2.X was a year and a half developmental cycle, we're barely 3 months into 4.0. you can't compare what we got throughout that ENTIRE year and a half dev cycle to 4.0 at launch

 

And besides that, they went with a completely new concept in KOTFE. They returned to Bio's roots with the KOTOR/KOTOR 2 elements as far as the story driven content goes, hence the "classic" quests.

[wadecounty]

Maintenance mode already started, or have you not seen the latest update?

 

Hey follks,

 

The team is aware of issues relating to some Operation and Flashpoint bosses. We are currently looking to address these issues with Game Update 4.3 and will pass on any additional information as we have it.

 

Thanks!

 

-eric

 

So yeah, break all instanced content in the game, tell your customers you won't even try to fix it until a couple months down the road. But hey, if something is wrong in the cash shop, you can expect a hotfix there within the week!

 

Yeah, game is dying, in maintenance mode, whatever you wanna call it.

 

I've been subscribed from day 1 and heard the same question being asked over and over and over. 4 years later and the game is still adding new content at a faster pace than ever.

 

I guess the doomsayers will be right eventually maybe next decade or something.

 

I've been subscribed since day 1 as well. Faster pace than ever, what? Are you joking? We haven't had a PvP update (besides the changing of seasons for arenas) in over 2 years, we haven't had a PvE update in 6 months, and we haven't had an update centered around operations in a year and a half.

 

And besides that, they went with a completely new concept in KOTFE. They returned to Bio's roots with the KOTOR/KOTOR 2 elements as far as the story driven content goes, hence the "classic" quests.

 

The problem is, an actual return to bioware's roots isn't possible in the shell of a burnt out MMO where choices can never truly matter because of the impact it has on a story that constantly branches and never ends.

 

What you need is a solid narrative that has a beginning, a middle and an end, in the package of 1 good single player game, and you can't get that from an MMO. So instead, you get something hollow like KOTFE. The only good thing about the direction the game is heading in, is its reminded me to go back and play some actually fun games, and I'm having a blast with emulators lately.

Edited February 17, 2016 by wadecounty

[Vhaegrant]

Im not trying to start a fight or anything i just want honest opinions with the news the BW is hiring for a new IP and as we see slow updates less fixes less and less news coming from BW. What do YOU personally think or feel. Which direction do you think or feel the game is going.

 

Slow updates... we were told that there would be a pause from Chapter 9 to Chapter 10. Talk about pauses if Chapter 11 and onwards suffer pushback.

 

Less fixes... I'm still seeing patch notes with lists of fixes. Some things are easier to track down and fix than others. Some only effect a very small player base or are not content blocking so rank lower on the 'need to fix now' scale.

 

Less news... the new cadence of Twitch streams is promising, fingers crossed that they will maintain it. It may not be new news to those that scour every internet resource to get their information but it's far more accessible and even better that Eric posts a detailed summary to the forums as soon as the stream ends.

 

Personally I think SWTOR launched with the wrong content to the wrong audience, but then it's an MMO so there will always be those that feel their gameplay is being overlooked.

[cool-dude]

Yes all games will eventually end. The question is when.

When do the publishing rights expire? There's your answer right there. Guaranteed Disney is anxiously waiting to jump in and get their own Star Wars mmorpg going.

 

I really hope Disney isn't so cruel as to turn Star Wars into strictly a kid thing.

Edited February 17, 2016 by cool-dude

[Isaacone]

I don't know to be honest. What I can say is this. The only thing keeping this game alive is the Star Wars name

[LordArtemis]

There is a clear lack of content with the rise of KOTFE. KOTFE only offers 9 (now 10) chapters of story, which are okay, and a few variations of star fortresses.

 

ROTHC had -

Two different planetary arcs from a different perspective, one empire, and one republic for Makeb, and Makeb isn't exactly a small planet either. Plenty of side quests and a new repeatable quest line once finished with the main storyline.

Dread seeder story arc.

Macro binocular story arc.

Fully voiced.

Two new operations. (Yes, I'm still counting TC)

 

KOTFE so far has -

10 chapters, nine released at once, all from the same perspective, regardless of class. These are all very tight space areas with little to no room exploring, although it looks great, it lacks the ability to be explored.

Two planets, one is a VERY miniscule hub, another VERY small planet, yet detailed city.

Very few side quests, all of which feature a companion and a lack of voice from the character.

"Star Fortresses" which is basically 7 instanced areas which offers very little to no replay ability.

 

Is it less content than some prior content releases? Yes. Was it designed differently, and potentially could have been more expensive than prior content releases? Possible....

 

The story in ROTHC, and even Revan does not compare to FE IMO. The quality of story AND cinematography is MUCH higher.

 

As I said, still standing as a valid statement, it IS content. And one does not develop content of this type for a game they are planning to close in the near future, generally speaking of course.

 

Whether or not it is a suitable amount of content, especially compared to prior content is certainly debatable, and I am not arguing that it is equal to prior releases...only that IT IS CONTENT.

[Yermog]

Everything that I've read that deals with the question "Is the game dying" basically comes down to two camps of thought:

 

For those who are PvPers and do operations and all that jazz, they pretty much all believe that the game is dying, or should be dying, and most of them use the fact that there's been little to no new PvP or Operations in quite some time. I believe someone said it's been over a year since they last did anything with that.

 

Those who are RPers and play the game for the story content, they all think the game is not only still alive, but thriving. They love the content and the fact that they're making new chapters every month is wonderful to them. They also hold that up as the #1 piece of evidence that the game is still going strong. After all, if they game wasn't making money, they wouldn't do any updates (according to their way of thinking).

 

If you look purely at the fiscal state of SWTOR, the numbers say it's doing very well. From what I understand, all the numbers are very healthy, and although I can't find a fixed number on how many players there are now as compared to a year ago, I have seen several articles that have said that the subscriber level is still quite stable.

 

As far as my opinion goes, I think that it would be silly for BioWare to shut down SWTOR in the midst of a new, giant, very popular Star Wars trilogy being made. That in itself will be a big draw to SWTOR, and I can't see it going down any time before that trilogy wraps up. As for what happens after the trilogy ends, we'll just have to see. But from what I've seen so far, it seems that SWTOR is doing pretty well for itself and shows no financial show of slowing down. Of course, that's just from my research. Someone else may have different info.

[IanArgent]

Disney has been axing their in-house development for a couple of years now and jobbing it out - Disney Interactive/Playdom has been suffering rounds of layoffs for a couple of years now. They're not going to bring an MMO project in-house.

[Djiini]

Nope.

[Nytehisagi]

The problem is, an actual return to bioware's roots isn't possible in the shell of a burnt out MMO where choices can never truly matter because of the impact it has on a story that constantly branches and never ends.

 

What you need is a solid narrative that has a beginning, a middle and an end, in the package of 1 good single player game, and you can't get that from an MMO. So instead, you get something hollow like KOTFE. The only good thing about the direction the game is heading in, is its reminded me to go back and play some actually fun games, and I'm having a blast with emulators lately.

The problem is, (for the quoted post to be true) this is hardly a burnt out MMO. If it is burnt out, then it has the biggest playerbase of any dead mmo i've ever seen.

 

KOTFE seems to be pretty solid to me.... and since when does a narrative HAVE to be contained within a single player game? Seems to me that every class has their own story (narrative) and they are all very well done IMO.

 

Congrats on playing old games, however do not presume that just because you no longer have fun playing this game, that the same is true for the rest of us. I have loved this MMO since beta and have zero intention of unsubbing.

[Pietrastor]

Yes all games will eventually end. The question is when.

When do the publishing rights expire? There's your answer right there. Guaranteed Disney is anxiously waiting to jump in and get their own Star Wars mmorpg going.

 

Guaranteed Disney is not developing any games by themselves anymore and EA got a 10 year exclusive deal on all PC/console games. Facts.

[JMCA]

Raiders might think that, but the other 95% of the players are enjoying what KotFE has to offer and its return to the standard of storytelling BW is known for.

 

Unfortunately, SWTOR lost its way for 2 years trying to win over MMO players. Thankfully, they're back to what made SWTOR the fastest growing MMO of all time when it was launched - the Story.

 

The changes they've made ensure that the game is always going to be friendly to new players instead of having Power Creep diminish the experience. We can thank GW2 and FFXIV for those innovations.

 

SWTOR has a brighter future than ever, especially when they make something to shut up the Occupy Operations Street people.

[peter_plankskull]

Raiders might think that, but the other 95% of the players are enjoying what KotFE has to offer and its return to the standard of storytelling BW is known for.

 

Unfortunately, SWTOR lost its way for 2 years trying to win over MMO players. Thankfully, they're back to what made SWTOR the fastest growing MMO of all time when it was launched - the Story.

 

The changes they've made ensure that the game is always going to be friendly to new players instead of having Power Creep diminish the experience. We can thank GW2 and FFXIV for those innovations.

 

SWTOR has a brighter future than ever, especially when they make something to shut up the Occupy Operations Street people.

I knew a thread like this wouldn't go unnoticed from the famous white knight himself! You got A LOT to answer for on your Reddit thread and yet you want to stir trouble in this one here to? Okay.

 

Btw I thought you didn't hate raiders yet you always seem to call them demeaning names...

[Amailya]

Well, the official Star Wars newsletter had an article about SWTOR classes in it today. Means the mouse must approve to at least some degree. Tbh, i wouldnt be surprised if parts of the old republic was to be upgraded from Legend status, based off of the fact that it has been so extremely popular (I mean they even have lego figures of Revan now). There is even a remake of the original KOTOR in the works. IMO there is still much more to be gained from building onto the story, rather than letting it stagnate and die.

 

Besides, there are still many Star Wars movies in the works for the next several years. This means even more exposure for Star Wars

[JMCA]

I knew a thread like this wouldn't go unnoticed from the famous white knight himself! You got A LOT to answer for on your Reddit thread and yet you want to stir trouble in this one here to? Okay.

 

Btw I thought you didn't hate raiders yet you always seem to call them demeaning names...

 

Yeah well you can ask those worthless moderators over there about that.

 

You guys are to blame for not only a diminished story but a diminished bottom line. You guys yelled and screamed that SWTOR needs raiding to survive, BW made a bunch of operations, and the game didn't grow in revenue. It shrunk.

 

When the third quarter in a row comes up with yet another positive highlight and on the accounting report, I'll definitely remind that cesspit of how wrong they are.

 

Again

 

BW doesn't need the raiding community. The raiding community needs Operations. The entire basis of the relationship is already proving to be the total opposite of "experts" who say that "BW needs raiding guilds and operations to survive."

 

It's all BS.

Edited February 17, 2016 by JMCA

[Pietrastor]

Yeah well you can ask those worthless moderators over there about that.

 

You guys are to blame for not only a diminished story but a diminished bottom line. You guys yelled and screamed that SWTOR needs raiding to survive, BW made a bunch of operations, and the game didn't grow in revenue. It shrunk.

 

When the third quarter in a row comes up with yet another positive highlight and on the accounting report, I'll definitely remind that cesspit of how wrong they are.

 

Again

 

BW doesn't need the raiding community. The raiding community needs Operations. The entire basis of the relationship is already proving to be the total opposite of "experts" who say that "BW needs raiding guilds and operations to survive."

 

It's all BS.

The game's a thempark MMO. What it actually means is that it needs a bit of everyone. You're making the mistake of going into completly opposite "all raiders can go away and the game won't suffer a bit" direction. The truth is as often somewhere in the middle

[JMCA]

The game's a thempark MMO. What it actually means is that it needs a bit of everyone. You're making the mistake of going into completly opposite "all raiders can go away and the game won't suffer a bit" direction. The truth is as often somewhere in the middle

 

I only advocate getting rid of raiding development if participation in it becomes like GSF.

 

Over time I'm even starting to want them to throw these people something because their constant whining makes keeping up with developer posts annoying.

[peter_plankskull]

Yeah well you can ask those worthless moderators over there about that.

 

You guys are to blame for not only a diminished story but a diminished bottom line. You guys yelled and screamed that SWTOR needs raiding to survive, BW made a bunch of operations, and the game didn't grow in revenue. It shrunk.

 

When the third quarter in a row comes up with yet another positive highlight and on the accounting report, I'll definitely remind that cesspit of how wrong they are.

 

Again

 

BW doesn't need the raiding community. The raiding community needs Operations. The entire basis of the relationship is already proving to be the total opposite of "experts" who say that "BW needs raiding guilds and operations to survive."

 

It's all BS.

Confirmed, JMCA hates raiders. Never once did I ever (so far at least) say that raiding is a higher priority above story, and I love how you assume I raid. Just because you may not like raiding, doesn't mean others don't, and in my own opinion, I believe a game should never deter a player base that wants to play there game of which in the past, they previously gave them content for years.

 

Yes, story is important, be honest here, we ALL at one time or another came to this game for the star wars story, to be that jedi, bounty hunter, sith warrior, etc. but, we also stayed and played for other things as well, some of these may include GSF, PVP, WZ, operations, or actual you know.... group content... which is lacking.

[LeeTone]

I've been subscribed since day 1 as well. Faster pace than ever, what? Are you joking? We haven't had a PvP update (besides the changing of seasons for arenas) in over 2 years, we haven't had a PvE update in 6 months, and we haven't had an update centered around operations in a year and a half.

 

 

Content is being released. Just because it's not the content you want doesn't mean there's no new content.

 

We have never received monthly updates before KOTFE.

[squirrelballz]

Yeah well you can ask those worthless moderators over there about that.

 

You guys are to blame for not only a diminished story but a diminished bottom line. You guys yelled and screamed that SWTOR needs raiding to survive, BW made a bunch of operations, and the game didn't grow in revenue. It shrunk.

 

When the third quarter in a row comes up with yet another positive highlight and on the accounting report, I'll definitely remind that cesspit of how wrong they are.

 

Again

 

BW doesn't need the raiding community. The raiding community needs Operations. The entire basis of the relationship is already proving to be the total opposite of "experts" who say that "BW needs raiding guilds and operations to survive."

 

It's all BS.

 

DMCA good to know that you are an expert on metrics and why the game failed if only everyone was so enlightened as you are. It's a good thing Bioware decides what to do and not you. I'll be here to remind YOU of that when the time comes. Also the endgame content is getting some love at least PVP is and eventually close to chapter 16 I'm expecting an announcement for a new raid. I'll be here to laugh when that happens and then you can tell us all about your metrics again.