As we grow closer and closer to the date that SWTOR will release, we hear more talk about subscribers, player base and just how many people we can expect to be playing the game. BioWare expect it to be so big that that are putting restrictions on the initial sale and release of the game. Now an industry expert says we might see 2 million subscribers.

John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment believes that BioWare might see some big numbers with SWTOR.

“It’s fair to say that subscriptions are likely going to be a strong component of revenue for the foreseeable future, although I don’t believe they will be remotely as dominant over time,” Smedley wrote in an exclusive opinion piece for GamesIndustry.biz.

This is actually impressive news in the online video gaming industry where more and more games are going free-to-play, particularly over at Sony. Just today, SOE released that DC Universe Online will be free to play on both the PC and the console, starting in October.

Smedley believes that SWTOR might be the last MMORPG to successfully push subscriptions. The economy is tough right now and people just cannot afford to pay monthly for game subscriptions anymore.

Times are changing for video gamers and we’re looking forward to a time when people are no longer considering it worthwhile to pay a subscription for this type of entertainment. While video games themselves are still a booming industry, we will instead see a change in the platforms and how these games are offered.

Will this mean more free to play MMOs with in-game advertisements to help funding? Possibly. Only time will say for sure.

As for now, will you be one of the potential 2 million paying for SWTOR?