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Unspecified number of developers cut from payroll after restructuring, developer says "very substantial" team still working on sci-fi MMORPG. 
The Star Wars: The Old Republic team is smaller today, as Electronic Arts studio BioWare has confirmed a round of layoffs to the team behind the sci-fi massively multiplayer online role-playing game. BioWare co-founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka called the move a "restructuring" in a public statement.
"Sadly, we are bidding farewell to some talented, passionate, and exceptionally hard-working people who helped make SWTOR a reality," the statement reads. "Impacting people's lives this way is always very hard, but we're ensuring the affected people are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect."
Following that post, 3D Realms founder George Broussard posted on Twitter, "Rumors near 200ish in layoffs at Bioware Austin. Going past contractors. Good luck to all involved." Although Broussard has no ties to the project, he has repeatedly broken news of industry layoffs at outfits like Warner Bros., Sony Online Entertainment, IO Interactive, EA, and others.
A source within EA contradicted Broussard's rumors, telling GameSpot, "That number is high. George's guess is recklessly inaccurate."
Earlier this month, EA announced the Old Republic subscriber base as 1.3 million, down from 1.7 million in February. Last year, EA CEO John Riccitiello said that The Old Republic would be "substantially profitable" at 500,000 subscribers, and "very profitable" at anything north of 1 million players.
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