Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

BioWare toys with Star Wars fans’ emotions, sends accidental beta email

Ryan Fleming
By

Sorry, Old Republic fans, but BioWare giveth, and BioWare taketh away. The hype for the upcoming MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic has been fairly intense. After all, it takes two groups, both of which are populated by intelligent and eager fans that are typically very web savvy, and mixes them together. Fans of the developer BioWare and fans of Star Wars are both fairly well informed in general, so the cross section that is awaiting the upcoming MMORPG tend to be on top of details. And then BioWare goes and messes with their heads.

Yesterday an email found its way to the inboxes of several people that had signed up for the The Old Republic newsletters. The email was short and simple, and essentially asked what they thought so far of the beta. The problem is, the beta is open through invite only, so thousands of people suddenly assumed that they had missed their invitation.

Internet panic ensued.

Recommended Videos

Fans charged the game’s forums and frantically posted, wondering what kind of a cruel god would invite them to a beta but not send them the information needed to join. The crush of online comments was enough that fans actually broke BioWare’s forums. With the site down, fans were left to wonder why they had been forsaken. Keep in mind the people that received this email are those that actively went out of their way to sign up for information about the game because they are eagerly anticipating it.

Related

The good news is that the forums are back up and the situation has been identified. The bad news is that the emails were sent accidentally, and if you haven’t received an invite, you probably aren’t going to.

BioWare issued a statement that Kotaku spotted, explaining the issue:

Earlier today, two e-mails were sent to members of the Star Wars: The Old Republic community. These e-mails were sent to a larger group than intended, and have caused some confusion in the community. We can confirm that these e-mails were from EA and BioWare and apologize for any confusion they have caused. Please note that receiving these e-mails does not affect your chances to be invited to test the game. Thank you all for your understanding!

While missing out on the beta may cause a disturbance in the force for many, the good news is fans won’t have to wait for long. Star Wars: The Old Republic will be released on December 20.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Ryan Fleming
Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
Anthem to receive a complete, long-term overhaul, BioWare says
Anthem update version 1.1.0 patch notes Sunken Cell weapon loadout contract mission fort tarsis

It’s been nearly a year since the release of Anthem, BioWare’s looter shooter, which struggled to find an audience at launch. Ahead of the game’s first anniversary, BioWare published a new blog post outlining plans for the game’s future, which will include a full, long-term overhaul.

BioWare general manager Casey Hudson explained that the game won’t only receive standard updates, but also fundamental experience changes.

Read more
BioWare hasn’t gotten around to taking down Anthem’s Christmas decorations
Anthem Hands-on Preview

BioWare said a few months ago that Anthem will be going through a major overhaul, and it appears that developers are hard at work on that project as they have not found time to remove the Christmas decorations in the game's main hub.

The Christmas decorations in Anthem's Fort Tarsis were added as part of the Icetide event, which launched in December. However, two months later in February, the decor remains, just like a neighbor who refuses to end the holiday season.

Read more
BioWare reportedly in early stages of developing next Mass Effect game
bioware early stages next mass effect andromeda ryder

The next Mass Effect game is reportedly in development at BioWare, though fans of the space RPG should not expect to get their hands on it any time soon.

The rumor comes from Kotaku's Jason Schreier, in his report that claims BioWare and Electronic Arts are planning a major overhaul for Anthem. The changes, which may come as one large update or a series of smaller ones, will reportedly include the structure of missions, the loot system, and the third-person shooter's world itself.

Read more