Star Wars: The Old Republic is free to play this weekend

New players can dip their toes into Star Wars: The Old Republic this weekend without reaching for their wallets, developer BioWare has announced.

Its massive sci-fi MMO is free to play from 5.01am on Thursday morning (UK time) until 7.00am on Monday.

All sever types will be available and your character will be saved in the event that you choose to sign up for a full subscription.

There are a few restrictions though:

• You can only progress to lv. 15
• You can only play in Origin World, Capital World, the Fleet, all Warzones and in your first Flashpoint
• General chat, trade chat and PvP chat will not be available
• You won't be able to use the Galactic Trade Network or trade with other players
• You will only be able to level your Crew Skills ranking to around 40
• You will not be able to earn Legacy XP

You can download the game from the official site as soon as the trial gets underway. Bear in mind that it's only available in countries where the game has launched.