SWTOR ‘Galactic Starfighter’ available to all; two more expansions coming in 2014

Free-to-play MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic will be getting two new expansions in 2014. Senior producer Bruce Maclean confirmed  plans for the digital expansions in post concerning the game's road map for 2014.

"Expect to see two digital expansions in 2014 just like you did last year, with one similar to Galactic Starfighter in scope and one more closely resembling Rise of the Hutt Cartel," Maclean hinted.

Galactic Starfighter, the second digital expansion for SWTOR, launched today for all players. It's main attraction is the addition of player-vs-player space combat and ship customization. The expansion allows players to acquire and customize their own starship and then take that ship into a 12-vs-12 dogfight in space, with no minimum level required.

Rise of the Hutt Cartel, the first digial expansion, was released in April 2013 and seemed like more a full-fledged expansion. It raised the character level cap from 50 to 55 and introduced Makeb, a dual-faction planet where players could continue the battle with the Hutt Cartel.

Other features on the road map include PvP Seasons, new Flashpoints, new Operations, new gear, performance improvements, and changes to some of the game's Classes. BioWare is also lengthening the time between updates and patches as to allow for more testing. Minor patches will now come every three weeks instead of every two, while major updates will come every nine weeks instead of every eight.

Although Star Wars: The Old Republic was released as a subscription-based MMORPG, the game adopted a free-to-play model after subscription numbers quickly dwindled following its launch. BioWare and EA now offer players a choice to pay a monthly subscription and unlock all of the content, or play for free with some limitations. Regardless of a player's subscription status, everyone can experience the complete storylines of the eight Star Wars classes, all the way to level 50 without having to pay a monthly fee. The switch has apparently been good for the MMO, as EA reported that revenue had doubled since going free-to-play.