Star Wars: Old Republic first content update next week

Star Wars: The Old Republic will be getting its first content update, Rise of the Rakghouls, next week.

According to BioWare, the upcoming patch will feature higher level group content, balancing and bug features, a new Flashpoint and Operation, level 50 bracketing for PvP WarZones, anti-aliasing, and changes to Open World PvP on Ilum.

Its newest Flashpoint Kaon Under Siege will be located on new neutral planet Kaon, and focus on having four player-groups attempt to eliminate the Rakghoul outbreak in either Normal or Heroic mode.

Operation Karagga’s Palace will be a continuation of the game’s second launch Operation, whereby 8 or 16 players fight against Karagga and the Hutt Cartel after the Hutts breech an agreement to remain neutral. The Operation will feature Normal, Heroic, and Nightmare difficulty modes.

Update 1.1 Rise of the Rakghouls will release on January 17. The next update is scheduled for March 2012 and will include new Flashpoints, Operations, WarZones, and new game systems.

Also on the cards is a possible future on the Mac platform, according to a recent statement by BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk, however no official word has been made as to when this might happen.

BioWare has plans to put out regular updates for this – possibly on a bi-monthly basis from the look of it. We’re beginning to see more MMOs increase the regularity of their updates, from Rift right through to WoW which has plans to do the same.