Star Wars: The Old Republic became one of the biggest jokes of 2012 as the much hyped MMO went free-to-play in less than a year after losing thousands of subscribers. Now the game is starting to see some life again after a few successful additions, including a full-fledged expansion, brought life back into the game. Now EA is continuing that momentum with a big update coming in the game’s latest patch.

EA and BioWare announced today that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be getting a new expansion on October 1 called The Dread War. The expansion will add new 4v4 PvP Warzone Arenas into the game alongside two new level 55 Operations – The Dread Fortress and The Dread Palace.

“We are constantly looking to improve the gameplay experience in Star Wars: The Old Republic, finding fresh new ways for players to try it out while offering new, higher-level content to our existing community,” said Jeff Hickman, General Manager of BioWare Austin. “With the addition of the new BitRaider streaming download, the upcoming Game Update 2.4, which includes two new Operations and the launch of PvP Warzone Arenas, there’s never been a better time to join us.”

The Old Republic remains free to play, but the game does offer subscriptions to players who want to get more out of their experience. To encourage more subscriptions, EA is offering the first expansion – Rise of the Hutt Cartel – free to those who join or rejoin the game as a subscriber.

Alongside news of the latest update, EA also shared a new live-action promo for the game that highlights the main problem with any Star Wars MMO – there are too many Jedi:

[Image: swtheoldrepublic/YouTube]