BioWare has clarified that while Star Wars: The Old Republic will be digitally exclusive to Origin when it launches, the retail copy of the game will not require you to install the Origin client.

According to BioWare’s senior online community manager Stephen Reid, Origin is not required to the play the game unless you purchase it online.

“While Origin will be the exclusive digital retailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic, that does not mean that Origin is required for you to access or play The Old Republic,” Reid said on the official forums.

“Origin is a digital storefront, and the desktop application is there to give you quick access to Origin exclusives and deals. However, you won’t need to launch the Origin application to run The Old Republic, nor will you patch the game via Origin. Once the game is on your hard disk, you’ll be connecting to our servers to patch and launch the game, and Origin does not have to be running to do that.”

Reid goes on to say that the boxed version of the game will include the Origin client on a DVD, in case you would like a hard copy instead of a digital one of the service.

SWTOR is expected to launch sometime by the end of the year.

Thanks, ffronw.