Leaked beta footage: it starts

Thanks to regular podcast listener and reader Gail, who’s pointed out what I think is one of the larger leaks of SWTOR footage from the beta program to date.  Coming in at around two hours it shows a hell of a lot of the game. I can imagine Bioware are far from impressed and you can’t blame them. That said, what the leaked footage does show is a game that’s looking pretty damn good. My main concern over the leak is that it can make people more likely to lock down information even tighter. As we’ve discussed on the podcast a couple of times, we’re keen for a broad public beta and events like this don’t help that case too much.

The alternate approach that could be taken is using the footage as a platform on which Bioware says “Hey, we told you it’s going to be a great game and you can see it for yourself, but there’s even better to come yet!”. It’s not a natural stance for any company however, particularly given it’s based on a breach of trust. Having watched the footage, it backs up the extensive reports from the Fansite summit that it’s a game with huge potential.

Leaks on their own aren’t surprising, although breaching an NDA is no light matter, which is why you won’t see a screenshot from the footage or a direct link to the offending footage. We still believe it’s worth reporting though as it’s a milestone a lot of MMOs face and it’s just another indication on how close this game is getting.

The original story is over at (Link removed at request of Bioware), but be warned it does contain a link to the footage in question. If it’s there for more than 24 hours I’ll be surprised although it’s now archived elsewhere according to the story.