BioWare's MMO will arrive later than some had expected, sources tell MCV Long-awaited MMO Star Wars: Old Republic will be released worldwide this September, development sources have told MCV. The date is later than many had predicted, with EA CEO John Riccitiello himself suggesting a year ago that a spring 2011 release was likely.

The game has been in development for over two years and is, by the admission of developer BioWare, its biggest title to date with "more content than Mass Effect one and two, Dragon Age, Knights of the Old Republic and Baldur's Gate put together". Sadly, the game has also been embroiled by plenty of negative press. An anonymous BioWare dev claimed in October that over $300m had been spent on developing the title and that the game "will be one of the greatest failures in the history of MMOs". Article continues below In November, Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz told attendees at the London Games Conference 2010 that he finds it hard to picture EA or BioWare ever making a profit on the title, which for the time being remains planned as a subscription MMO.

EA, unsurprisingly, is publicly far more confident about the title. In November it assumed additional publishing, distribution and marketing duties from LucasArts. And in December it predicted that the game could potentially boast a ten year life-cycle.