Well here’s a turn out for the books: LucasArts is releasing a ‘Star Wars’ game! Who’d have thought?

The publisher is teaming up with developer BioWare for the third time, as well as publishing giant Electronic Arts, and returning once again to the relatively un-milked Old Republic era of Star Wars history, set some 3,000 years prior to the events of the films.

When I say ‘un-milked’, I mean there have only been two games, two comics, a short story and two novels about this particular part of the Star Wars meta-plot.

The fact that it takes place so far ahead of the most famous events in Star Wars canon gives BioWare plenty of scope to mess about with the history as it pleases. Players will be able to pick Jedi or Sith characters, select from different factions, and build a team of companion characters to accompany them on their questing.

Although this is BioWare’s first dip into Massively Multiplayer territory, it isn’t the first for Star Wars (*gasp*). Star Wars: Galaxies was a promising but ill-fated first attempt to turn the distant galaxy into a MMO sized online experience.

There’s no indication of when SWTRO will be coming out, but BioWare already has a number of games in the pipeline, including two sequels to Xbox 360’s brilliant Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins for the PC. Let’s give it a few years then, eh.

TBA | TBA | LucasArts