Simutronics and BioWare announce today that the eagerly-awaited MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic era is being built using Simutronics' HeroEngine design platform.

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Things are warming up over at ZeniMax Online. While we're still waiting for official news on exactly what the studio is developing, bets are on an Elder Scrolls MMO, after Voodoo Extreme did a bit of domain name digging.

Now, Gamasutra (among other news outlets) are reporting that the developer has licensed Simutronics HeroEngine, an all-in-one MMO package that includes client and server software. This is interesting indeed, considering Bethesda is a stalwart supporter of Gamebryo, having used the first iteration of the tech in Morrowind and a more advanced version for Oblivion. It's not like Gamebryo has no support for MMOs.

In fact, I have it on good authority that Bethesda's version of Gamebryo is leagues ahead of what original licenser Emergent has on offer. Maybe ZeniMax just likes the look of HeroEngine. Still, it seems a waste to not use technology that's already there.

ZeniMax Online Studios Licenses Simutronics HeroEngine For New MMO [Gamasutra]