During a recent Q&A session on reddit, John Smedley, the boss of SOE, dropped a little bomb that almost obscured the announcement of the port of EverQuest Next to console: SOE is working on a new project dedicated to Star fans Wars Galaxies (SWG):
Once we launch it, you will be able to go home.
Since this is my first MMO, I keep a nostalgic memory of this game which offered immense freedom, allowing you to create your character while freeing yourself from the usual class limits. We had a general limit to the number of points to be allocated but we could then dispatcher these points without constraint in a very large number of routes, and not just martial! Dancer, musician, architect, merchant, sniper, trainer, engineer droid ... And if we were tired of doing an activity, it was enough to forget it and put your points in another way.
There were a few fixed towns, but also a multitude of towns and villages created by players, with mayors, elections, councils, events ... The fighters left to hunt the most dangerous monsters, setting out in search of the rarest objects, bought back from them by traders, opening permanent stores. The rebels hid from the Imperials as the few Jedi tried to outlive the bounty hunters who scoured the galaxy in search of them.
Fortunately, in the same commentary, John Smedley admitted that they would have handled the resumption of the game differently. Indeed, all players of that time will remember the disaster of the NGE imposed by SOE which destroyed the essence of the game in imposing classes and overhauling the combat system. Post NGE, SWG had become a passable MMORPG, which quickly died, deserted by disappointed gamers.
Following this remark, a player noticed that SOE still owns the SWG mark. If we look at the details of the registration, we even see that it was renewed on December 26, 2013.
Still, no, it won't be a SWG resurrection as John Smedley confirmed on Twitter yesterday:
just to clarify a point I made in my AMAA - we have a new game that I think SWG vets will like. It's not a new Star Wars game at all.
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) January 27, 2014
Just to clarify one point about AMAA - We have a new game that older SWG players will enjoy. It's not a new Star Wars game at all.
So we just have to wait until SOE feels ready enough to tell us more ...
