SWTOR loses 400,000 subscribers since February

Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO has seen a drop-off in subscribers in recent months, to the tune of around 400,000 lost since February 2012.  Earlier in the year, EA reported that roughly they had roughly 1.7 million subscribers in February, and yesterday reported that number had come down to around 1.3 million.  SWTOR became available at the end of December 2011, and EA attributes the declines to a number of factors.

Lower numbers of trial players, and casual players that tried and decided not to subscribe, make up the two main reasons EA points to for the decline.  EA is not alarmed by the drop, claiming that the MMO’s numbers are in-line with projections from the company.

When asked by investors about the significance of The Old Republic to the bottom line, CEO John Riccitiello said “It’s performance right now is in line with Madden, or The Sims, but it’s more important than Tiger Woods PGA Tour.  Bioware has been trying all tactics to get players engaged with the MMO.  Free trials, discounted game clients, and massive content expansions have been just a few of the methods that the developer has been using to spark more interest in the exceptional story-driven MMO.