SWTOR won't launch unless "it's solid"

With EA yet to pinpoint an exact release date for Star Wars: The Old Republic, Bioware has said its "main focus" now is making sure the game is "solid" enough to "pull the trigger".

Speaking to Eurogamer at Gamescom last week, BioWare co-founder Dr. Greg Zeschuk reiterated the official line that his studio was "targeting holiday" for the launch of the ambitious MMO.

But he explained that it was vital from day one - whenever that may be - to ensure the game was "available, reliable, [and] really solid".

He said: "We're doing our very best to get it out as fast as we can. With a game like this, getting it all right, getting all the server stuff right is just as important as getting the game right."

Seeking to ease fears that the game would slip into 2012, he added: "We're trying, as fast as we can. That's the reality. It's literally live right now; we've been doing a lot of testing with a lot of people behind the scenes.

"At any one time there are thousands of people playing the game. Starting next month [when public beta weekends are scheduled] we're really going to start expanding that testing cycle."

Zeschuk acknowledged that the challenges BioWare was dealing with for the MMO were new territory for the company.

"It's one thing to get the game done, another to ensure you can login thousands of people a minute," he said. "It's a different sort of requirement. The things you need to get done to ship this are very different from a standard game. A standard game, this is like five of them, right?"

Despite producing some of the biggest franchises in gaming, Zeschuk admitted SWTOR was "kinda daunting", adding: "This game's launch is going to be one of the biggest launches ever in the history of gaming.

"Our job is really simple: making sure it's great when it comes out. We're going to do the right thing for the fans, for the product. It's a big deal but we're doing our very best to get it out as fast as we can."