The NDA, or non disclosure agreement, on SWTOR is what prevents testers from talking about certain aspects of the game when they play it. These types of legal agreements are in place to protect a company’s creative licenses and for a game like SWTOR that is highly based in story, it’s to be expected.
MMORPG writes in a column that they believe it just might be time to drop the NDA already. They think since beta testing is being offered to basically everyone, that it’s time to drop the NDA.
They write:
“Recently, BioWare concluded their largest Beta Test Weekend yet, and they’re already in the process of revving up for a final big smash of a Beta Test Weekend. If you thought this past weekend was big, well it looks like everyone who has signed up for Game Testing, as well as those who never bothered, will have a chance to take the game for a spin before it launches in about a month.”
That’s a pretty good point. If you or anyone you know has played the beta this past weekend, then there is a chance you already know pretty much anything you could know about the game. So what else is there to leak? MMORPG brings up the point that since everyone will have already known about the game, there is little left to protect.
They say, “I would honestly be surprised if the NDA survives the upcoming final Beta Weekend, but that day just can’t come soon enough.”
That is again a good point, however, there is more to an NDA than just gamers not having content spoiled. This type of legal agreement is also done for the protection and benefit of the company. NDAs are not only issued to game testers but also to writers, developers, artists and anyone else who works on the game, even in the smallest way. It’s not likely they will drop the game testing NDA officially, although it is possible they may take a lesser stance on going after people who leak information at this point.
