Eight personal stories, meaningful choices and group encounters give STAR WARS™: The Old Republic™ a strong narrative pull. At $0.00 from Steam, it is at the lowest level recorded here, a fitting opportunity for anyone curious about a free-to-play MMORPG with an optional subscription.
The Steam PC version includes single-player, co-op and multiplayer. Its interface is available in English, German and French, with full audio and subtitles listed for those languages.At $0.00 from Steam, STAR WARS™: The Old Republic™ is at this site's recorded low. Its eight storylines and group activities make this a timely entry point for anyone drawn to a long-running online saga.
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89%Steam Reviews75.7K reviews85Metacritic/100
Released: Jul 21, 2020
Free to Play · MMORPG · Multiplayer · Character Customization · Open World
Steam·Platform:Steam·United States Steam official priceFreeALL-TIME LOWBuy now
All-time low ~ $19.99across Steam & third-party storesat the recorded all-time low
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Price History
Past 36 months · Updated daily
Historical Low~ $0.002023-08Current Low Across Stores~ $0.00SteamAt its historical low now
Prices cover Steam and 39 authorized stores; only legitimate offers are counted. The chart shows weekly market-wide lows and Steam's official price across the past 36 months.
Shape a personal STAR WARS™ saga in this free-to-play MMORPG: make consequential choices, follow the Light or Dark side, and experience a story with full character voiceover.Steam players rate it 89% across 75,722 reviews.The Steam PC version offers single-player, multiplayer and co-op.Interface languages include English, French, and German.Released July 21, 2020.
$0.002023-08-12 · SSteamBase game · same records as the chart above; USD history, not a regional Steam low.
Language support
Language
Interface
Subtitles
Audio
English
Yes
Yes
Yes
French
Yes
Yes
Yes
German
Yes
Yes
Yes
Steam PC edition data · 2026-10-19
02Before you buy
Stories and choices
This MMORPG offers eight distinct storylines, with choices that shape a character's path toward the Light or Dark side.
Modes and languages
Steam PC lists single-player, multiplayer and co-op. Interface languages are English, German and French, with full audio and subtitles listed for each.
03Frequently asked questions
When and where is the game set?
The story is set more than 3,000 years before the classic films and takes players across numerous planets.
What characters and combat styles are available?
There are eight unique storylines and 16 combat styles; the combat style can be separated from the class story.
What multiplayer activities are included?
Yes. Flashpoints and Operations feature group boss encounters, alongside PvP modes and Galactic Starfighter missions.
What are Galactic Strongholds?
Galactic Strongholds is a player housing system where you can relax between adventures.
Selected helpful reviews in this language show both recommendations and criticisms. This selection does not represent the overall positive rating; opinions reflect the version reviewed.
RecommendedSteam player
Expecting these devs to give the bare minimum of yearly content is a joke, its really sad how little effort is put into such an expensive game nowadays. I really am giving this a slightly positive review because the base game is so good.Show moreShow less
274 hours at review1,462 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
So this is where you went, Old Friend...
I have a very love-hate relationship with the game, as someone who subscribed in the first months of the game and also someone who has been Preferred between Story Expansions. I'm reviewing this game in the state it's in and as someone who has completed like... 70% of content and 90% of story content. While this game has some Absolutely Phenomenal stories to tell of a Galaxy Far, Far Away...
The game will treat you like a Drunkard treats their Third Wife if you don't fork over money for the subscription. If you don't want to get into the kind of relationship that is entailed with any EA game, just exit out of the store page now. If you LOVE Star Wars though, read on.
Star Wars: The Old Republic is a Free-To-Play in the same way Black Desert Online or the like are... that is, you CAN play it free, you CAN complete the base game, and you CAN "Participate" in End-Game Content... if that end-game content is getting your butt handed to you by subscribers in PVP because you aren't allowed to actually progress past level cap without a subscription. They'll also knee-cap your experience with a -30% debuff (not +30% for subscribers, -30% for anyone who's not. This isn't as bad since KOTFE but I feel like noting that F2Pers are treated as Second Class Citizens instead of uplifting Subscribers) There's also restrictions on Queues (can only do so many Flashpoints/Warzones a week, Uprisings and Operations are completely locked out) and a bunch of other things (like 2 hotbar restriction and not being able to hide your helmet) that can technically be bypassed if you buy some of their Premium Currency called Cartel Coins. In-Game Economy's Broke as well. Kylo Ren Saber looks cool right? 40 dollars, or 50 Million Credits (Preferred has a cap of 1M btw)
Gameplay is your standard Hero Engine Tab-Target (So it's like basically any of the tab targets you've played that aren't WoW or FFXIV) There are 8 Combat Styles (16 but they are mirrors so 8) with 3 specializations each, leading to 32 ways to play the game (3 ways to tank and 3 ways to heal) If you don't like how a Combat Style plays, you probably just aren't playing the right Specialization. As of Legacy of the Sith, these have been decoupled from Origin Stories so now your Bounty Hunter can use a Sniper Rifle. Note however that old characters will be locked into their Combat Style that they were created with (so if said Bounty Hunter was a Mercenary, then you are locked into Mercenary permanently as your starting choice) Sith can't be Jedi unless you unlocked the Legacy Unity power, and Jedi can't be Sith unless you unlocked the Legacy Sacrifice power. This DOES breathe some life into the game as you can now play 'Origin Stories' if you didn't like their native gameplay, but the second choice profession is only available if you are a Subscriber, so if you didn't like your old character... I'd just recommend making a new one instead.
As of Legacy of the Sith's Launch, I can ONLY recommend subscribing if you weren't a Subscriber prior to Legacy's release. LotS expansion's content is very lackluster (one buggy ass zone and a Flashpoint that, combined, will last you 2-6 hours depending on your gear and how comfortable you are with your class) The mount from the Bundle is cool at least, but it's not the expansion I was hoping for.Show moreShow less
0.4 hours at review1,149 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
Greetings from Bulgaria! I am Vulkk (or Alex) and I have been playing SWTOR since one of its beta stages without breaks and time outs. I would like to encourage you to give the game a try with this quick review below, while still being honest about the flaws of the game in its "elderly age".
Star Wars: The Old Republic is now nine years old at the time of this publication. The game has an incredible amount of content to offer to a new player. The learning curve is not too steep and the stories are all free to enjoy them at your own pace.
All the way up to level 60 is currently available 100% free of charge. You can play all 8 origin class stories to level 50, and continue through the first digital expansions of the game up to level 60.
If you enjoy playing casually, you could only subscribe for a month to get all of the story content unlocked forever for your account. However, once you approach the EndGame, you start feeling the limitations of the F2P model very hard. Once you find out what it is like to play as a Subscriber, you may struggle to get back to Preferred status player (the middle limitation level) after your Sub expires.
SWTOR offers tons of solo content, but it shines in the group play, especially if you team up with guildies and have a voice chat available. Be it casual or hardcore, raiding, PvPing, exploration, Conquest - everything is more fun with friends in this game. Play the class stories alone to immerse yourself fully into them, then join a guild or play with friends once you find yourself in the EndGame grind.
Being a nine years old game, SWTOR struggles to offer continuously fresh and engaging content to some of the hard-core fans and veterans of the game. I myself have been playing it since beta and have witnessed every single update, change, bright moments and failures over the years. It's a thing to consider, but if you are reading this review, you are probably wondering if it's worth picking up the game. Yes, absolutely.
The game engine is a giant issue from the very beginning. Low FPS in group environment such as Operations and Warzones may be frequent and the graphics of the game in the old content really shows how long it's been since SWTOR's release. BioWare is dedicated to updating the old content slowly from time to time.
Enjoy your own Star Wars Saga with fully voiced over cinematic story experience and personal choices that some times lead to real consequences down the line.Show moreShow less
1.7 hours at review927 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
[Review from the perspective of a free-to-play player]
I played this game back when it first came out, got to max level, did some end-game content and pvp, and generally found the game to be pretty enjoyable. Decided to pick the game back up when I found it on Steam as free-to-play.
What a 180 it's taken... The story, voice acting and gameplay are all still pretty great, but EA's dark shadow now looms over just about every aspect of the game. It's like they went down a list of every single feature and function of the game to make them all juuuuust inconvenient enough compared to subscribed players that each disadvantage by itself kind of just makes you roll your eyes, but when you put them all together you can faintly, through the ether, hear the excited, heavy breathing of the EA execs as they climax while fantasizing about getting their grubby little sausage fingers into your wallet.
"You like to pvp? Great! We got you! Give us money or else you can only do ten matches per week though."
"You enjoy running flashpoints and taking down bosses for epic loot? No problem! Give us money or else you can't equip that epic loot you picked up though."
"You want to be space-rich and earn a bunch of credits to buy anything you can think of? Absolutely! Give us money or else you can only hold a pitiful one million credits though."
Don't worry about forgetting all the disadvantages you're at either. They'll remind you. Constantly. Every time you unlock a new feature, you'll get a nice popup rubbing in your face how much they hate FTP players, and just about every window you open will have a lovely little "give us money" button for when you finally cave in.
Long story short: If you don't mind subscribing and you enjoy the thought of those EA execs ramming you from behind while they gently caress and whisper sweet nothings to your credit card, you'd probably enjoy the game.Show moreShow less
10.3 hours at review1,117 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
This is a great game for all Star Wars fans.
Worth of finishing each class's story (till lvl 50).
Don't forget to connect security key for additional cartel points.
+ following codes for special mounts (these are not ref codes):
NYCantina16
SWCELEBRATION17
SWCANTINA17
NYCANTINA19
If you've got any questions about this game - write me!!
P.S. Link for codes redemption: https://account.swtor.com/user/codes
+++
2023 Update //////
Still worth go through original stories up to 50 levelShow moreShow less
3.9 hours at review834 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
I used to subscribe back in the day, from release for about a year. It was a great game back then.
It still is, in many ways the narrative driven nature of it is addictive and really fun if you play with friends.
At times, it feels like you're playing KOTOR but multiplayer, which is really cool
The problem with the game, and the reason I can't recommend this to anyone, is with the payment model.
It's free to play, which means, you guessed it! EA are fleecing people for all they're worth for the most ridiculous things.
For example, if you wanna send an item to someone, even if you're an ex subscriber like me- ONE ITEM AT A TIME AND NO CREDITS!! Forcing you to do janky things like selling useless low level items to YOURSELF on the Galactic Market for the credit amount you want to transfer. Then, the game has the nerve to tax a hefty amount of it, so you just lose thousands of credits doing this.
But hey, all of this stress and frustration can be avoided if you just ahem, cough up some of your hard earned money ;)
It gets worse. I remember when I picked up EverQuest 2 a few years ago, after it went free to play. I'd always wanted to play it, I bought it at release and subscribed for a month but it just wasn't running on my potato PC. I was having a good time on it, and about 20 minutes into my session I found an epic item. I was really excited, my first good item, can't wait to equip it! OH, YOU MUST UNLOCK THE EPIC ITEM RESTRICTION PACK FOR 9.99????
What a joke, I immediately uninstalled the game for having this kind of pointless paywalling. For blatantly manipulating my experience to make me want to pay them.
Well, the same thing is present here. The Artifact Authorisation Pack costs 1200 cartel coins.
The bigger problem with this, and something I wish would be made illegal to do, is that the 1050 cartel coin pack which is 5.99, is not enough for it. So if you want to unlock purple items for use on your character, you have to buy the next pack up which is 2100 coins and 11.99.
These problems here are the reason why I absolutely can not and will not recommend this game. It has corporate scum all over it. You can't even hide your head slot on your character (something that is common place in RPGs, whether free to play or single purchase single player) without being a subscriber. You can't customise how your companion looks beyond giving them items found in the world unless you're a subscriber. You can't use various basic emotes unless you're a subscriber.
It seems like EA, and many devs these days, ANNOY YOU into subscribing. They paywall convenience, instead of making you actually want to subscribe for the cool new content. I've not once, in the 40 hours I've been playing this again since years ago, looked at a feature that's subscriber only and thought to myself 'Wow... that actually makes me want to subscribe'
Every reason I've wanted to subscribe has been through frustration and a lack of user friendliness from the game. Which is completely the wrong way to go about it. It feels like they are poking and prodding you with a stick to get you to subscribe instead of showing something golden and glorious.
Something that WILL put off many new players, especially those who are new to MMOs in general is the sheer amount of abilities the game throws at you. Sure, it gives you some tools that are mildly complex for new players, to help organise everything, like an interface editor, and the ability to set hotkeys for many different bars of abilities.
But games like WoW tend to give you a new powerful ability every 5-10 levels. This way, you look forward to getting it. You spend a few days with the abilities you have before you unlock Whirlwind, and that changes how you play.
On SWTOR, you get a couple of abilities at level 1, then unlock like 3 at level 2, then 3 more at level 5, then 3 more at level 7, then 3 more at level 10. By the time you are level 20, you have 2-3 bars filled with abilities and are forced to use pretty much all of them, utilising shift+hotkeys, the CTRL+hotkeys of your companion's abilities, the number keys + shift variants, mouse buttons + shift and CTRL variants....... it really is ridiculous for a new player to get their head around.
I don't mind it so much because I've been playing these games for decades and I actually enjoy the challenge of it, and the feeling that you can become good at being versatile, while a new player will not be. But I play with a real life friend who doesn't get much time for gaming and having to use so many abilities is confusing and daunting for him.
Overall, as Star Wars fans, we deserve better treatment than this. We have made this franchise billions upon billions of dollars over the years, and here on PC, we are rewarded for it by not being able to hide our helmet and not being able to equip purple items unless we pay them up front for the convenience.
As a subscriber, I give this game a 7.8/10. A good game with fun combat that's better with friends.
As a free to play player, I give it a 1.5/10. Halfway between being total garbage and not total garbage.Show moreShow less
40.4 hours at review1,022 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
Please follow United Critics for quality reviews
Star Wars The Old Republic Review
The Wars Across The Stars
The war has been raging for decades, and this time your story will take part in it. Decades before the classical star wars, we all know, and love existed.
This is the old republic, and you choose which side you want to take part in. And what may lie ahead is only up to you to tell.
The Game of The Play
Star Wars The Old Republic is a HUGE game with a large variety of content, a game that keeps getting updated with patch notes and new content.
The player gets the choice to choose which side, what class or specification, and even customize their character. Each class on either side has its own main story. Concluding to more stories and more gameplay for the player.
Game Mechanics
The battle mechanics can be toggled in settings for your comfort within the games possibility. The only missing mechanic the game does not support by default or as an option is “mouse-lock” The player currently needs to hold down the right mouse button to lock the mouse.
Some games have mouse lock on default, which lets the player press a button to free the mouse instead. Unfortunately, this game does not include that setting.
It is not as simple as point and shoot; the player's weapon has a certain shooting range that the enemy needs to be within to shoot/attack.
Further away, it will indicate the enemy is too far away and is unable to shoot.
By default, after eliminating an enemy, the lock-on will switch to the nearest enemy.
While lightsabers can deflect blaster bolts from far to close distances, they can only inflict damage on the enemy at close distances.
Character Qualifications
Like I briefly said in the gameplay, when the player starts with a new character, they will choose which side they want to play on. Since each side has its own story and missions.
There are four-character qualifications on both sides. Each qualification has a certain number of selectable styles or character specifications.
Missions & Stories
Each qualification contains its own story and missions, and each story takes place in different locations. All intros are different, and all missions are unalike, so there is plenty of content that the player can explore and try out.
In total, there are eight stories the player can try out and complete. And each time, they can replay the story, but with another type of playing style. (aka specification)
Character Tabs
Gear
The gear tab is where the player can see and select their gear from their inventory. They can see what damage the player does, what survivability they have, and how much support they have. Inventory can be upgraded with a bit of in-game currency.
Outfitter
The outfitter can rearrange the color of the players clothing if they are compatible with the system.
Here, the player can make and save outfits for their character.
Character Tabs
Gear
The gear tab is where the player can see and select their gear from their inventory. They can see what damage the player does, what survivability they have, and how much support they have. Inventory can be upgraded with a bit of in-game currency.
Companion
Some companions give the player the option of choosing their armor and weapons. If the player has a companion who allows gear arranging, the player can change their gear in the companion tab.
Galactic Starfighter
This tab can be opened when the (H) button is pressed.
Ships
The ship tab has four smaller tabs containing Strike Fighter, Scout, Bomber, and Gunship. Each small tab contains four ships, but the player can only buy three of them with game currency; the fourth ship is real money.
There, the player can both look at ships and buy new ones, as each ship has its own little description.
Components
The components tab contains of two categories with smaller tabs. Major Components and Minor Components. The components can be upgraded by the player with in-game money.
Major Components
Primary Weapons
Primary Weapons
Secondary Weapons
Shields
Engines
Minor Components
Capacitor
Magazine
Reactor
Thrusters
Visual & Audio
Visuals
For a game that was made in 2011, the graphic design, animation movements, and overall experience within the game are truly good.
Smooth structures, detailed character bodies and outfits, animations, decent effects on shooting, grandees, etc.
The game looks good, and depending on their progress and story, they will see a lot of different elements, including cities, frontlines, and space.
Audio
Voice Dialogs
Most of the main mission NPC interactions have voiced dialogue scenes, both for the NPC and the player, with three optional word choices. Some might sound more gory, while others are more passive.
Depending on the dialog choice, it can change the view of you by your companions or the NPC to whom you are talking.
Sound & Music
While in the game, the player will hear blasters shooting, hover bikes racing, and either NPCs chatting or footsteps from fellow players.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Gameplay
Character Class/Specification
Visuals & Audio
Story/ies
Content
Choices
Cosmetics/Character Designing
Cons
No Mouse-Lock
NPC Loading Error
No Simple Crouching
No background music (nothing big)
My final little thoughts
SWTOR is a very large game with hundreds of hours of content, and I did not want to rush the review but also not take too long with it.
My experience during the time I played this game was mixed, but like most games, after a few hours, it gets better. Some mechanics you’ll have to learn, and others you simply need to get used to.
There isn’t much to say about the gameplay since it all runs smoothly and is mostly story-based in the game.
But all in all, I highly recommend this game. It might look and be a bit old, but trust me, it's better than some new games in this era.
Rating: 9.5/10
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For full review head over to our websiteShow moreShow less
4,879.7 hours at review805 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
Free to play is an overused and often misused title by game devs and game runners.
Between this, and DC universe online which has some crushingly oppressive F2P mechanics, this game takes the cake.
Money restrictions for free players?
Yes.
Inventory restrictions?
Yes.
Lack of a bank or stash?
Yes.
Inability to /yell or talk in all chats?
Yes.
Inability to equip GEAR that is too strong even though you found it?
YEP.
Can't even TRADE between players?
YEP
F2P games go free to play because they cannot sustain a vibrant community on a need to sub basis.
The free players fill games with opponents, teammates and content for those who do play.
Nearly every gamer would agree that games should only really paywall things like expansions and cosmetics.
This game paywalls everything it can get away with and more.
I've been more than comfortable putting money into F2P mmos, I put some down on star trek online, DCU, ect.
But this game treats its free to play players like garbage and doesn't deserve a dime for it.
If you can get some fun out of the story missions, more power to you, but do not expect the game to treat you like anything but a freeloader unless you churn out some cash.
If the devs want any good advice, unrestrict player stashes, trading, money amounts, cut the exp drain to 25% instead of 50%, and take away the restriction on free to play players not being able to equip epic+ loot, that is seriously the dumbest needless restriction, and only your game does it.
Oh and make one of the races unlock for free players as a show of good faith.
The game will survive a lot longer and more people will feel comfortable dropping real money who otherwise wouldn't of.
EDIT/UPDATE: Some people seem confused, I do not think devs shouldn't be able to charge money for things in a free to play mmo, my gripe is that this particular mmo has the MOST restrictions on it's free to play players out of any free to play mmo I've ever played.
I didn't market this game is F2P, the devs did, and this is a steam release for the game so I think it's more than fair to warn new potential players of the restrictions. (since no one goes into a F2P mmo and drops money instantly, the game needs to convince them to do so)
People also seem to think it's unfair I didn't mention that if you pay for 1 month you do unlock SOME of the things permanently even if you stop paying.
That's a fair statement but it doesn't take anything away from my point in the slightest.
https://swtor.gamepedia.com/Free-to-Play
Here is the full list, which also reminded me that there is a 1 minute chat lockout for each post you make, you makes asking questions of users nigh impossible if you have to say more than one thing every 60 seconds.Show moreShow less
16.2 hours at review602 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
Before I played this i had a small penis, no girlfriend and no will to live. None of these things have changed, but the game is pretty good.Show moreShow less
1,028.8 hours at review773 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
Review from the perspective of a free-to-play player]
I played this game back when it first came out, got to max level, did some end-game content and pvp, and generally found the game to be pretty enjoyable. Decided to pick the game back up when I found it on Steam as free-to-play.
What a 180 it's taken... The story, voice acting and gameplay are all still pretty great, but EA's dark shadow now looms over just about every aspect of the game. It's like they went down a list of every single feature and function of the game to make them all juuuuust inconvenient enough compared to subscribed players that each disadvantage by itself kind of just makes you roll your eyes, but when you put them all together you can faintly, through the ether, hear the excited, heavy breathing of the EA execs as they climax while fantasizing about getting their grubby little sausage fingers into your wallet.
"You like to pvp? Great! We got you! Give us money or else you can only do ten matches per week though."
"You enjoy running flashpoints and taking down bosses for epic loot? No problem! Give us money or else you can't equip that epic loot you picked up though."
"You want to be space-rich and earn a bunch of credits to buy anything you can think of? Absolutely! Give us money or else you can only hold a pitiful one million credits though."
Don't worry about forgetting all the disadvantages you're at either. They'll remind you. Constantly. Every time you unlock a new feature, you'll get a nice popup rubbing in your face how much they hate FTP players, and just about every window you open will have a lovely little "give us money" button for when you finally cave in.
Long story short: If you don't mind subscribing and you enjoy the thought of those EA execs ramming you from behind while they gently caress and whisper sweet nothings to your credit card, you'd probably enjoy the game.Show moreShow less
55.6 hours at review455 people found this helpful
Source: original Steam user reviews. Helpful votes are an archived snapshot, not live data. Last collected: 08/15/2026.
Steam, it is at the lowest level recorded here, a fitting opportunity for anyone curious about a free-to-play MMORPG with an optional subscription.
