This will be a post full of acronyms, so I'll give you a bit of a cheat sheet to get you started:

KoTOR is Knights of the Old Republic, a title based on the Star Wars universe.
MMO is Massively Multiplayer Online, as it relates to games that a lot of people can play online at once, in a persistent world.
EA is Electronic Arts, a video game publisher.
A-OK is a saying, derived from "Okay" and used in diving, meaning "Everything's good, we can proceed".

So: KoTOR MMO by EA is A-OK!
(To translate - EA has announced that BioWare is currently working on the next version of Knights of the Old Republic, and that it will contain a massively multiplayer online component.)


While not announced at any of the big E3 Summit press conferences, or via any informative press releases, EA chief executive John Riccitiello made the confession behind closed doors, in an interview with Condé Nast Portfolio - a business magazine, of all places.

According to Riccitiello, EA has "two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development" - with the first being Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, which launches soon.

"...and the one that people are dying for us to talk to them about -- in partnership with Lucas, coming out of BioWare, which is, I think, quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry at the point when we get closer to telling you about it."

When questioned whether he was referring to the rumoured Knights of the Old Republic sequel, the answer was simple.

"Yes."


(Images from the original Knights of the Old Republic)
...so, there you have it. BioWare (now an EA developer) and LucasArts, together again, working on an MMO version of one of their biggest titles. How does this make you feel? Keep in mind we have no details or further information on the upcoming game (allegedly titled The Old Republic), so we don't yet know just how the MMO element will be included. While the concept of "MMO" tends to conjure imags of something that is only playable online, it's possible the release could contain a single-player mode, with the gamer logging in to a persistent MMO environment for the multiplayer element. Perhaps that's wishful thinking, but while I know there are many people thrilled this has finally been announced, there's an equal number who are disappointed that it won't be the same.

Can we now forget the last attempt at a Star Wars MMO, the ill-fated Star Wars Galaxies... or are we headed there again?