This post has been a long time coming, but it is one I am very pleased to write. Last week striking voice actors of the SAG-AFTRA union approved a new contract with the major video game developers, ending a nearly one year long strike.
Members voted in overwhelming favor for the new agreement, and the union had already allowed voice actors to resume work prior to the vote, which indicates to me that they are happy with the new agreement.
While Broadsword never officially cited the strike, I think it’s fair to say that it is the reason Star Wars: The Old Republic has not had a story update in more than a year. The developers did mention missing pieces that prevented story updates, but given that some of the cast hails from Europe where the strike was not in effect, it seems like they were able to record some but not all of the game’s voice over dialogue. Notably, the featurette released by SWTOR during Star Wars Celebration featured English actor Jamie Glover delivering one of Malgus’ characteristic monologues on the Force, fate and the destruction of both the Jedi and Sith.
I have always supposed that the task of scheduling the voice over work from SWTOR’s sprawling, multi-lingual cast must be a herculean task, but, with the strike over, I’m certain Broadsword is working hard to get everyone back in character. I don’t know how long that will take, but I have seen other developers discuss getting back on track, and Keith Kanneg in his quarterly update, posted shortly after the strike was suspended, let us know the details of when we can expect the next update. Based on the schedule they’ve been keeping the past couple of years, I’m guessing the next SWTOR livestream will be at the end of this month or at the start of August.
With the strike resolved, it’s also nice that we can again start thinking about the future. What are Malgus and Shae Vizla planning? Who is Darth Nul? Is she still alive? What is the device detailed in her holocron? Which companions get the next date nights? All important stuff!
And we can perhaps look even further. SWTOR‘s devs made made it clear that they are planning not only at the next patch cycle but at the game’s longterm future. Could that include news of an expansion announcement?
During the strike, two major story updates, “Rising Powers” and “Galactic Threads” were put on hold, and the next should be due soon. If they release it all at once, we’ll be treated to the largest story update SWTOR has had in years! It’s pretty exciting.
As for how Broadsword has filled the time during the strike, I think they’ve done a good job. I’ve really enjoyed Dynamic Encounters. I am always happy for an excuse to take my characters out into the game world and do stuff. It’s nice to return to the starter planets and I’ve been to corners of Ilum and Hoth and Tatooine that I’m certain I have not visited in years. Some of the achievements and rewards are frustrating to earn, but for the most part, I’ve had a good time running around the galaxy causing trouble for the Empire and doing good for the Republic.
I’ve also enjoyed Relentless Replication, SWTOR’s new lair boss. Propagator Core XR-53 is a neat and unique encounter with an accessible Story Mode, a challenging but doable Veteran Mode and a very difficult (at least for me!) Nightmare Mode. The major reward of this operation has been a new tier of augments. Crafting these augments is extremely tedious, and the highest level ones are luxuries, but the new starter augments should be accessible to anyone who wants to cheaply get ready for challenging group content.
I feel like the character model updates are coming together nicely and the scope of new character customization options added to the game was beyond anything I would’ve imagined. And I hope more is to come.
Was I glad that SWTOR hasn’t had any new story updates in a year? Of course not. But I’m an old fashioned pro-union guy, and we’ve seen time and time again that the major video game publishers will gladly lay off employees by the thousands, destroy entire studios and treat the products they release in the most mercenary fashion. So score one for the voice actors. They bring to life the characters we love to play and interact with. I’m glad they won an agreement they could support, and I hope everyone working in the industry can get the same consideration one day.