Lucasarts and Bioware have confirmed what has been suspected for some time: they’re developing a Star Wars-themed MMO. They’ve named it Star Wars: The Old Republic, which isn’t much of a stretch from Bioware’s last foray into the Star Wars universe with the RPG Knights Of The Old Republic. In fact, founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka joked about the size of the game, saying that “Internally, we’re making KotOR 3 through 10.”

The Old Republic is set thousands of years before the time of the Star Wars films, players can be a Jedi, Sith or other character and Bioware claims that this is the first truly story-driven MMO. To date, there’s only been one other Star Wars MMO - Star Wars Galaxies, though Sony can probably expect a sizeable migration from their SWG player base once The Old Republic is released a year or two from now. Check it out here.