I suppose I should change my old blog category of "BioWare MMO" to "The Old Republic".

I believe that it wasn't so much of a secret as it was BioWare testing the waters. Star Wars was an obvious choice, but it's a license that's been heavily over-used and has already been attempted as an MMORPG. I think they were measuring just how much anticipation there was. Turns out quite a lot.

The pivotal factor? BioWare themselves.

BioWare has incredible talent to tap from and they have a unique (in this industry) approach towards universes created by others, they delve into them as if they were their own. That's what made Knights of the Old Republic into magic and I think we're all betting they can do it again.

Despite that, I've been pointlessly crossing my fingers, wishing BioWare would use one of their own IPs for their upcoming MMO. At first I thought the chances of Star Wars were slim. Oh how wrong I was. It became more and more obvious it was the fan favourite and earlier this year it was all but cemented in.

I'm still not sure whether to jump for joy or cry. I'd have loved to have seen BioWare use the Mass-Effect universe, or try something altogether new. At the same time, an MMORPG from BioWare comes with excitement and if they must do Star Wars, I'm pretty happy it's in the KOTOR deep-dark-in-the-past setting.

If anyone can do it right, I'd bet my money on BioWare.

Over 18 months ago, BioWare announced their plans to make an MMORPG. Rumours of a Star Wars MMO flew, but they didn't make any sense: Star Wars Galaxies had taken a big nose-dive and BioWare themselves have made it clear that they would like to focus on establishing a few of their own properties rather than making more licensed games. I've been fully expecting to see BioWare leverage Mass Effect into an MMO, it's perfect for them and would explain why they're keeping the MMO world under wraps, Mass Effect needs to grab a fanbase first.

But the Star Wars rumours persist, they even grow. Why?

Because BioWare is one of the few companies that gives licensed games both the royal treatment AND adds their own originality to the mix. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was almost the epitome of game licensing.

I still don't think it's going to happen.

But wait! Now LucasArts and BioWare have made a joint statement about an un-named game they're designing together. Could this be the MMO already in progress, could it be the wet dream of Jedi everywhere?

I still don't think it's going to happen.

I'd rather see a Mass Effect MMO. I like Star Wars just fine, but as much as BioWare was the best developer for the lightsaber-licensed product, I still think the movie adaption to games has been shoving a square peg through a round hole. I'd much rather see them create within a universe that they've tailor made for games.