BioWare Details Star Wars: The Old Republic Early Access [Want Early Access To Star Wars: The Old Republic? BioWare Tells You What You Need To Do]

Posted on TFTS by Eric Abent on Wednesday, 28. September 2011 under: Computer/Console Gaming

Now that we have an official release date for Star Wars: The Old Republic, MMO players and Star Wars fans alike are gearing up to be absorbed in the Star Wars universe and all of the PvP action that’s going to come along with it. But how would you like to start playing Star Wars: The Old Republic before it launches? BioWare and Electronic Arts are giving you the chance, and today BioWare detailed what you need to do in order to start playing the game early.

BioWare announced that they would be giving certain fans early access to the MMO back in July, but today BioWare’s Stephen Reid took to the Star Wars: The Old Republic official forums to explain the early access deal in more detail:

Everyone who pre-orders Star Wars: The Old Republic and redeems their pre-order code will get Early Game Access. Those who do this will be able to download the game client and play the game ahead of the release date. While we aren’t ready to talk about the exact timing of when Early Game Access starts (that depends on a number of factors including Game Testing and pre-order numbers), we’ll announce that before the start date. Our planning accounts for allowing people to download the client before the Early Game Access start date, too.

So, pre-order the game and get early access. It’s as simple as that, but at the same time, it isn’t as cut-and-dry as it initially seems. BioWare and Electronic Arts are planning on staggering the amount of people who get early access, meaning that while everyone who pre-orders will get early access, some will get in earlier than others.

Ultimately, when you get in will be determined by when you pre-order. If you ordered Star Wars: The Old Republic as soon it became available for pre-order, chances are good that you’ll get in with the first round of people admitted. Alternatively, if you waited a while to pre-order, chances are good that you’ll have to wait while others who pre-ordered before you also get first access to the game:

The next obvious question is ‘I pre-ordered on Day X, when do I get access?’ While we cannot answer that for everyone, I will say (as I did in July) that those who pre-ordered early will be getting Early Game Access, well, earliest. At this point we still have pre-orders available and therefore, anyone who pre-orders will still gain Early Game Access, but as they’re redeeming their code later, they’ll get Early Game Access later. As I’ve said before the difference between ‘early’ and ‘later’ should be a matter of days, not weeks.

We’ll be sure to update you when BioWare announces a start date and details who gets access when in more depth, but in the meantime, if there’s one thing you take away from this article, let it be this: you pre-order Star Wars: The Old Republic, you get early access.