EA shot down ‘New Republic’ overhaul for Star Wars MMO

Star Wars: The Old Republic didn't end up becoming the biggest MMO ever, but it has stood the test of time. As it turns out, the former director for the game had plans to completely overhaul it and right some wrongs from early on in development, he even managed to get Disney approval, but EA shot it down. 

James Ohlen, the former director for BioWare's Old Republic MMO, recently told PCGamer in an interview that he had pitched a huge overhaul for the game in 2015, one that would set the game well before the fall of the Galactic Republic, in the era that Disney now refers to as the ‘High Republic' era, although this didn't exist at the time. The MMO would have been re-named Star Wars: The New Republic instead.

Ohlen had wanted to re-create the game in a new way, moving away from the WoW clone elements that The Old Republic was ultimately based on. He had managed to get LucasFilm creative head, Dave Filoni, to sign off on the idea and even managed to win over one of EA's most notorious executives, Patrick Sodurland, an achievement that Ohlen is particularly proud of.

Unfortunately, when the pitch reached EA's board of directors, they ultimately passed. They had already spent $300M developing the original MMO and were not keen on going back for another round. This is despite the fact that during this time, EA was hugely motivated by the growing multiplayer games market and the microtransaction money that follows.

While this is a disappointing anecdote to hear for Star Wars fans, there is actually a great deal to be hopeful about in the future. Disney is currently in the process of moving on from the disappointing Star Wars sequel film saga and is more focused on telling stories in the Old Republic and High Republic eras. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor had a massive High-Republic subplot, while Quantic Dream is currently working on a massive High Republic era game. Elsewhere, Disney has other studios bringing back The Old Republic, with plans for a KOTOR 1 remake to reintroduce Revan has a central character in Star Wars lore, as well as a new KOTOR spiritual successor from former BioWare lead, Casey Hudson.

KitGuru Says: Do you think Star Wars: The New Republic would have been as successful as the original MMO? What would you like to have changed in an overhaul? 

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