Star Wars: The Old Republic - The Ghost Town Problem
Introduction Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) launched with great fanfare and impressive subscriber numbers, but players quickly discovered a troubling reality: many of the game’s worlds felt eerily empty. This wasn’t just a matter of perception - it was a fundamental issue with how the game’s population was distributed across its server infrastructure. Let’s explore how this happened and what it meant for the player experience. The Numbers Behind the Problem In early 2012, SWTOR boasted an impressive 1.7 million subscribers. However, these players were spread across 215 servers in North American and European regions. When we break down these numbers, the problem becomes clear: ...