{
  "id": 15959626,
  "title": "Star Wars: The Old Republic Fans Pay Their Respects to BioWare",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/star-wars-the-old-republic-fans-pay-their-respects-to-bioware",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-21T21:16:28.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IGN",
    "slug": "ign",
    "url": "https://www.ign.com/articles/star-wars-the-old-republic-fans-pay-their-respects-to-bioware"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "EA terminated BioWare on the same day, as fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic expressed their condolences to the esteemed developer. Star Wars: The Old Republic was initially crafted by BioWare and debuted in 2011. BioWare continued to oversee the MMO up until 2023, when EA assigned Broadsword Games to manage it. However, the majority of the game's narrative content was conceived and authored by BioWare, which explains the SWTOR community's desire to pay tribute to the now-defunct studio following this recent news.\n\nReddit user WarlockingIn shared BioWare's farewell statement on the SWTOR subreddit, quickly amassing nearly 5,000 upvotes and 742 comments showing support for the defunct RPG developer. User Bae_the_Elf lamented EA's handling of the studio, stating \"RIP. One of the greatest gaming studios of all time in my opinion. Sad to see how corporate mismanagement and time sadly lead to the downfall of this studio. It would have been nice if they had just kept chugging out great RPGs at a steady pace for years.\" Meanwhile, AnnoyedYamcha was deeply saddened by the closure, saying \"NO. Not BIOWARE! They made so many great games. What the hell is going on!!! They were the bar for RPG's. KOTOR, MASS EFFECT, DRAGON AGE, JADE EMPIRE, they were all great! JADE EMPIRE though doesn't get enough love. I wish they made another. THANK YOU BIOWARE FOR EVERYTHING! 😭😭\"\n\nSome fans were taken aback that SWTOR outlived BioWare, as evidenced by the top comment on the thread from user Inangelion, who simply remarked, \"SWTOR outlives Bioware. What a strange timeline.\" Others even expressed gratitude that Broadsword took over, with user Dangerously_Stupid posting, \"You know, a few years ago I was upset that BioWare was giving up SWTOR and handing it to Broadsword. I am no longer upset by that.\" Similarly, user KukiBreeze simply expressed relief that the MMO persisted another day, saying \"Thank you Broadsword, a sh*tty day could have been 1000x sh*ttier otherwise.\"\n\nDespite the widespread mourning for BioWare, fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic are not alone in their lament. People across the internet have reacted to the studio's demise, and the loss of a potential Mass Effect 5. However, for the time being, Star Wars: The Old Republic endures, with hundreds of hours of exceptional BioWare storytelling still available.",
  "summary": "EA shut down BioWare earlier today, and fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic are paying their respects to the beloved developer.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}