The Old Republic Grace Period Offered for Registration

When it was announced that, despite being in the early access “preview” of Star Wars: The Old Republic, gamers were going to need to enter their redemption code on launch day lest they lose all of their progress, it was a decision that was met with heavy criticism. Frantically checking their shipping options, and hoping that the post office wouldn’t fail them on Tuesday, The Old Republic's happy subscribers began to worry that their early access might have been simply a faux beta.

But fear not Star Wars: The Old Republic early access members, BioWare has heard your complaints and is offering a better solution to ensure that any progress isn't lost in the galaxy far, far away. To give a helping hand to those who might not receive their copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic on launch day, the developer has announced a two-day grace period before that character progression is lost.

Previously, if a gamer was already in the early access of The Old Republic, but failed to redeem their code for either the digital or retail copy of the game on launch day, they would lose all of their progress pre-December 20th. Obviously, given the amount of retail copies pre-ordered, or do to this circumstance or that, not all of those gamers would have been able to redeem their code in time — and so here is where the grace period comes into play.

Gamers still need to use their redemption code for The Old Republic, but at least if Amazon takes a little longer to make that delivery they can rest easy. Unfortunately, for those who happen to receive their copy of The Old Republic after the 22nd, there will be no further grace period. At this time BioWare asks those gamers to contact their retailer for shipping options.

From the start, this small redemption window seemed like a very risky proposition, but clearly enough fan outcries arose that BioWare was inspired to change their tune. Now those Jedi Consulars and Bounty Hunters won’t have to constantly check the mail, and can focus on their adventure.

Do you think that a two-day grace period is a sufficient amount of time for BioWare to allow for shipping mishaps? How has your experience with The Old Republic been so far?

Star Wars: The Old Republic officially releases on December 20, 2011 for the PC.

Source: The Old Republic Forums