Star Wars: The Old Republic’s original director hadn’t played a single MMO before launching its development studio: ‘How the hell did they trust me with this much money?’
James Ohlen, the original director of BioWare’s long-running MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, revealed he had never played a single MMO before taking on the role. In 2006, BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk approached Ohlen while he was halfway through developing Dragon Age: Origins, asking him to oversee a new development studio in Austin, Texas dedicated to MMO creation.
Ohlen admitted his initial reluctance, stating “I hate massive multiplayer games. But all right, I’ll do it.” Demonstrating commitment to learning the genre, he created a World of Warcraft character the very next day to familiarize himself with MMO mechanics and design philosophy.
The revelation underscores an unconventional path to leading one of gaming’s most ambitious MMO projects. Star Wars: The Old Republic launched in 2011 and became one of the most successful western MMOs. The game remains operational today under management by Broadsword, which took over from BioWare. Ohlen’s story offers insight into the early 2000s MMO boom, when major studios were expanding into the genre with ambitious budgets and inexperienced leaders.