Everything we know coming to SWTOR in 2026 including Story, DirectX 12 and 8.0 Expansion.
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SWTOR 2026 Roadmap
Keith Kanneg recently posted an Executive Producer Letter over Christmas, highlighting many unexpected and new announcements and updates for SWTOR planned across 2026.
In this letter, Keith recounted SWTOR’s update schedule and released accomplishments in 2025, highlighting a successful return to story content over a year of delays which was most likely caused by various worker and union strikes across America and Europe since 2024.
Below are ALL of the highlighted and known information we have for 2026 going through SWTOR.
DirectX 12
SWTOR updating the game to DirectX 12 was first announced back in 2023 and news since then has been few and far between, during the Game Update 7.8 livestream in late 2025, the developers cited a major UI issue was the current reason why the move to DirectX 12 had been taking so long.
However we have now been given a definitive understanding of what DX12 will accomplish in SWTOR by Keith:
As we look forward, I wanted to touch on our migration to DirectX 12 and provide you with why we’re making this change along with the current status:
The goal of the DX12 conversion is to enable us to add new visual features to the game. Once we reach current feature parity, we’ll retire DX9 and continue forward with DX12. After that, we’ll begin to add new features to enhance the game, improve performance, and enable us to take advantage of future graphical features. Here’s a quick update:
- In our test environment, SWTOR is playable in DirectX 12.
- The game is mostly functional using DX12 except for some advanced rendering features. But, the UI isn’t working properly yet, which is why we can’t make it available to test yet.
- Since the migration to DX12 requires extensive (and deep) changes, we can’t give a solid timeframe for making it available to test. The good news is we are getting closer and will keep you updated on our progress.
March Update
Hello to all of our SWTOR players! This is the Technical Team behind the initiative to bring SWTOR to DirectX 12. We’ve seen your questions and requests for updates on the progress we are making and now that we are nearing the end of the first quarter of the year, we thought this would be a good time for a quick check-in!
Whether you’re a brand new player or one that’s been with us since the very beginning, it’s likely you’ve heard us talk about Modernization. This has taken many forms in recent years, from visual focused efforts like the refreshing Environments and Characters, to more technical ones like the 64-bit Client. Modernization continues to be a priority for the team as we look to the future of SWTOR, and at the nexus of both technical and visual upgrades is DirectX.
When we committed to upgrading our version of DirectX, the first task was to create a baseline that would allow us to experiment with different approaches to modernizing the game. In short, we made a version of the game where the rendering was reduced to a basic set of features. For example, at this stage objects were drawn with no textures. This allowed us to remove aspects of our engine that were specific to DirectX 9 and ensure that we could move to DirectX 12 without introducing fundamental performance problems.
The images below highlight early stages of moving the game to DirectX 12:
Frostbite Engine Integration
Next Steps
Next, we began to recreate the minimal rendering features in DirectX 12. SWTOR was originally created in HeroEngine, but as the game has been upgraded and modified heavily over the years, little of the original code remains. It’s basically now the SWTOR Engine and is specific to our game. Therefore, we couldn’t simply get an upgraded version of the engine–we had to rebuild it!Through collaboration with partner teams at Electronic Arts, we were able to integrate rendering components from Frostbite with the SWTOR engine. (We are using some components, but we are not converting the game to the Frostbite engine. Our game content depends on the SWTOR engine and isn’t compatible with Frostbite.) With the basics working, we set out to convert or replace all the major rendering features that weren’t part of the minimal set. Some features, such as shaders (short programs that assign colors to pixels), had to be redone from scratch because the differences were stark while other features could be kept with a few modifications.
Early Rendering Stages:
Examples of Additional Textures and Shaders:
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DirectX 12 Public Test
Where are we now?
This work has come a very long way! We have all the major features working, except for the User Interface (UI). We can all agree that the UI is a must have for any future testing, and we’ve found that converting this component has been our greatest challenge to date. Similar to the rendering engine upgrade, there was not a direct upgrade path for the UI, and we worked with teams at EA who had carried out similar work before to complete the conversion ourselves.
Currently, we are working to get the UI in a functional state so that we can move on to public testing. Along with a few other loose ends to tie up, once we are in a position to communicate further about a Technical Alpha test, we’ll make an official announcement. For now, here are examples of the latest progress we’ve made
What to Expect from DirectX 12
Future Steps
When we are in a good position to release the Technical Alpha version of the game on DirectX 12, players should expect the first iteration of testing will not have all the advanced rendering features available. For example, features like shadows and bloom (glare effects around bright lights) may not be implemented yet.
There are a huge number of different processors and graphics cards in the marketplace, and we won’t be able to test all of them internally. So, our first focus will be asking for players to tell us about compatibility issues, glitches, etc… This testing is still in the future, but we are well on our way!
What we expect from DirectX 12
The goal of moving to DirectX 12 is to ensure that the technology used to maintain the game is supported, as well as provide us with opportunities to further modernize the game. As technology continues to evolve, so must the foundations that SWTOR is built upon. This goal and mindset is similar to when we migrated to 64-bit. However, moving to DirectX 12 also opens the door to all kinds of graphical improvements we’d like to make in the future that wouldn’t be possible with DirectX 9.
We will share more details about other benefits players can expect from DirectX 12 in a future article. At this time, we wanted to share the progress that has been made so far and give you a glimpse into what’s to come. We appreciate your support, and we look forward to sharing more progress with you soon!
-The SWTOR Technical Team
Developer Livestream
Keith has confirmed that the first order of business for SWTOR as we enter 2026 is that a special Developer Livestream will be held in February 2026. This livestream aims to highlight Game Update 7.8.1 as well as various other things that SWTOR will feature over 2026 such as the 15th Anniversary of SWTOR and potentially the announcement of the 8.0 Expansion!
See the Livestream Recap here!
Master’s Enigma 7.8.1 Story
Following the release of 7.8 in December 2025, the developers promised that the next part of the main Legacy of the Sith storyline, Master’s Enigma, will release March 10th 2026.
Alongside the Master’s Enigma storyline, we will be recieving several pieces of side content as well!
The Master’s Enigma story was first revealed at Star Wars Celebration in May of 2025.
In order to play Master’s Enigma story on release, players must have completed the Galactic Threads story-quest from the Legacy of the Sith expansion.
Kira Carsen and Torian Cadera Date Night
Kira Carsen and Torian Cadera will feature as two Date Nights (repeatable, free quests) to players that have romanced Torian and Kira. These two date night quests will most likely also reward free titles and decorations for eligible players that romance Kira or Torian.
Galactic Season 10
Galactic Season 10: Shadows of the Syndicate , will release alongside Game Update 7.8.1 – Master’s Enigma. Kieth Kanneg revealed that SWTOR will be changing how Galactic Seasons work with Season 10 in the following quote:
This season will work a little differently than previous seasons so stay tuned for our next live stream for details, along with insight about the two Date Nights featuring Torian and Kira.
Galactic Season 10 will feature as a ‘return’ of Galactic Seasons 1 and 3, including the companions Altuur and PH4LNX, rewards, decorations, achievements and more!
SWTOR’s newest Galactic Season 10: Secrets of the Syndicate, will be the first season to return Achievements and Rewards from Galactic Season 1 and 3, including companions Altuur Zok Adon and PH4-LNX as well as brand new rewards and meta achievements!
Season 1 and 3 armor sets return as rewards!
Spring Event
Spring Event Mobile Abundance Basket
New Cartel Market
Dantooine Invasive Flora Decoration Bundle
The Shadow Sentry is available right NOW!
Continue the Fight Bundle
The STAR WARS: The Old Republic – Continue the Fight Bundle is a limited time offer to new and existing players in SWTOR, for a little above the price of a Non-Recurring 60 Day Subscription timecard the bundle includes 60 days of subscription, 2400 Cartel Coins and the K-NorCo D3M Mount which can be used at Level 1, without the Speeder Piloting Skill!
The bundle contains
60 Days of Subscription Time to SWTOR
1050 Cartel Coins (included with Subscription)
2400 Bonus Cartel Coins
K-NorCo D3M Mount – An account wide, unlocked Speeder Bike that can be equipped by all players Level 1 or higher, even if you do not own the Speeder Piloting skill!
Price $39.99 USD | €39.99 EUR | $59.99 AUD | £34.99 GBP
Twitch Livestream Rewards
Yavin Stronghold Decoration
Watch 1 Hour of SWTOR livestreams with an actively connected swtor.com and twitch.tv account until March 10th to unlock the Yavin Art decoration.
Players for the launch of 7.8.1 can watch 5 hours of livestreams to unlock the T2-26 Walker mount
T2-26 Scout Walker Mount
Legacy Reborn 7.9 Update
SWTOR’s next Story Update, titled ‘Legacy Reborn’ is set to release in Spring of 2026!
Not much is known about Legacy Reborn however we do have a few small details:
- Legacy Reborn will be the Finale of the Legacy of the Sith storyline
- PvP Season 10 release date
- Beginning of the next story ‘Era’
We don’t know what the Finale of the LotS story entails, will Malgus, Heta Kol or Shae Vizla finally be defeated/over, or will their storylines continue into the 8.0 Expansion? Keith only teased us with the following information:
As the Legacy of the Sith story reaches its finale in 7.9: Legacy Reborn, we’ll be introducing the next story Era just around the corner! Without giving too many spoilers, you can expect quite the shake-up across the galaxy. We’ll give more details about the next Era in 2026.
PvP Season 10
During the release of the 7.9 Legacy Reborn story update for SWTOR, the game will also release its 10th new PvP Season and rewards for players.
7.9.1 Galactic Season 11
SWTOR is set to release Galactic Season 11 after the Legacy Reborn update, targeting ‘Summer’ of 2026. Keith Kanneg remarked that like Galactic Season 10, it will also feature the ‘change’ made to the Galactic Season system.
Both the ‘changed’ Galactic Season’s 10 and 11 were spoken about on the February 25th Developer Livestream:
We’ll talk about Galactic Season 11 during the next Livestream when we discuss Galactic Season 10 as both will follow a similar path.
Galactic Season 11 will see a rerun of Galactic Season 2 and 4! Featuring both Fen Zeil and Amity as companions, as well as all of the original rewards, achievements and new rewards to match!
SWTOR 15th Anniversary
There has been little information revealed for SWTOR’s 15th Anniversary, set for December of 2026. However Keith has officially given word of at least one major update for the 2026 holiday period:
8.0 Expansion Announcement
This is an incredibly thrilling milestone and with it will come many questions, I am sure. First things first, stay tuned for our 7.8.1 livestream in February. We will cover what you can look forward to in 2026 AND share the first details about what to expect as we celebrate 15 years of SWTOR with 8.0!
It is important to know that throughout the year, we will be both releasing new content and simultaneously working on development of our Anniversary Update. We look forward to sharing details over the course of the year, which could include updates during our quarterly livestreams, hosting 8.0 specific livestreams, public tests, emails, articles, and more. There is a lot to talk about, so make sure you join us for the ride!
– Keith Kanneg
Whether 8.0 will release FOR Christmas 2026 or the testing/announcement period only begins in Christmas 2026 is unknown.
It’s likely that Christmas 2026 will only feature the first trailers, teasers and public test periods for balancing and taking feedback for the expansion before it releases.
However I think most players would be absolutely surprised to learn that SWTOR has enough fight left in it to gain support for another expansion, especially since the current expansion has had its main storyline drift without any end in sight for several years now, given that the storyline started all the way back in 2018 and has been unresolved to this day.
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