BioWare has kicked off the week of GDC announcements and reveals with a release date announcement for Star Wars: The Old Republic's first expansion, Rise of the Hutt Cartel. Defenders of a galaxy far, far away can take up arms against fat space-slugs on April 14.

Players who pre-ordered the expansion before January 7 get a five-day head start on leveling their characters to 55 and exploring the new planet Makeb and other additions included in the Scum and Villainy patch in testing since late February.

The expansion is still available for pre-order at $10 for subscribers and $20 for non-paying players, but the window for obtaining early access has already passed into the Force. Personally, I'm looking forward to experiencing more of BioWare's excellently voiced quest dialogue while tinkering with new abilities on my hate-fueled Marauder.