Star Wars: The Old Republic is the biggest release of many a year for MMORPG fans. Tuesday, 13 December granted early access to those who had pre-ordered the game, with millions of players expecting to swing their light sabre yesterday. Unfortunately, the mini launch didn’t go smoothly and Bioware forums almost crumbled under the rage hitting some threads.

The idea was to offer early access on pre-ordered games to ease the pressure on servers on Day 1, 20 December. Anyone who pre-ordered a copy of SWTOR had to redeem their early access code. Entry to the game would be granted by date, so codes redeemed in July would be invited to log-in first.

Access was granted in waves, but by Tuesday evening, many were still waiting and as we all know, hell hath no fury like a gamer scorned. One forum was closed down when it reached 850 pages of pure rage.

Bioware has promised that everyone with a pre-order code will get early access, but those keen to grind to level 50 before the 20 December launch are foaming at the mouth.

The SWTOR team has tried so hard to make this a smooth launch, but it looks like they may have underestimated the lure of a new Star Wars MMO. And the scorn of gamers demanding earlier early access.