BioWare releases the launch trailer for Knights of the Fallen Empire, the latest expansion in their Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG.

The trailer, which details much of the narrative that will characterize the newest expansion, was posted on YouTube earlier today to coincide with the Knights of the Fallen Empire's official launch. The expansion will be the series' fifth, although it is also Star Wars: The Old Republic's first expansion in close to a year after a development cycle that saw three come out in 2014.

Knights of the Fallen Empire will allow players to participate in another uniquely-crafted BioWare story set within a non-canonical Star Wars universe. Players will travel to the Outer Rim, a setting that is already steeped with lore due to BioWare's previous Star Wars related efforts in their classic Knights of the Old Republic RPG series. Knights of the Fallen Empire pits players against a Sith Emperor named Valkorion and the Eternal Empire he rules over.

[HTML1]

From a player-character perspective, each avatar in Knights of the Fallen Empire will begin their journey towards becoming the Outlander, a renowned veteran of the Great Galactic War that plays a huge role in BioWare's ever-growing Star Wars: The Old Republic universe. Players, as the Outlander, will also eventually discover that their fate is inextricably tied to the Eternal Emperor, pulling them ever closer towards a final confrontation.

Knights of the Fallen Empire, like other recent Old Republic expansions, is free to all of the game's current subscribers, who will also be provided with a level 60 character as a reward for their continued support. Alongside raising the game's level cap from 60 to 65, Knights of the Fallen Empire will also boast a number of other narrative improvements. The game is set to renew BioWare's focus on cinematic storytelling, and will feature enhancements and additions to each of the eight original class stories, as well as upgrades to its end-game Operations.

Although it's easy to lose sight of The Old Republic in the flurry of other Star Wars news lately, it wasn't too long ago that the game was the fastest growing MMO in history. While that growth fell off enough that The Old Republic went free-to-play only a year after its release, the fact remains that the game was once noteworthy enough to break genre records, and a good expansion might be all it needs to achieve MMO relevance once again.

Do you play Star Wars: The Old Republic? What do you think about a MMO game driven so heavily by cinematic storytelling? Let us know in the comments.

The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire is available now for PC.

Source: YouTube