Star Wars: The Old Republic is clearing out unused character names ahead of its 15th anniversary. On November 12, 2026, names belonging to inactive characters on free-to-play and Preferred accounts go back into the pool for anyone to claim. At the same time, BioWare is running a new subscriber reward: the Meirm Cicada GT mount.
Who keeps their names
Subscribers are fully protected. If your account has an active subscription on November 12, 2026, none of your character names will be touched.
Free-to-play and Preferred players need to pay closer attention. Any character that hasn’t been logged into since January 1, 2026 will have its name released into an unreserved pool on November 12, where another player can take it. The check works per character, not per account, so:
- Logging into the game before November 12 saves the name of the character you log in with.
- To keep every name on your account, you need to log in with each character individually before that date.
If you miss the deadline and someone else takes your name, you won’t lose the character itself. The next time you log into it, Star Wars: The Old Republic will offer a free rename.
Claiming a released name
Players hoping to grab a name that has become available have two options: create a new character with it, or use the Rename: Character Name Consumable on an existing one. That consumable will be 90% off for one week after November 12, which should make the scramble for freed-up names a fair bit cheaper.
The timing means players who have been sitting on a wishlist of taken names will want to be online around November 12, since released names are first come, first served.
Meirm Cicada GT subscriber reward
BioWare says players have been asking for another chance at a mount like the original Meirm Cicada, and the GT version is its answer. Anyone with an active subscription between now and November 12 at 11:00am CT / 5pm UTC receives the Meirm Cicada GT.
The mount supports both minipets and companions riding along, though the developers point out that bulkier companions won’t fit in the passenger seat. Their example: B3-S1 is too big to come along for the ride.
Two new bundles, Rejoin the Fight: Welcome Home and Master the Fight: Prepare for Battle, both include a fixed stretch of subscription time, so buying either one covers both the name protection and the mount. Existing subscribers who pick one up simply get the extra time added to their account.
Since both the mount window and the name release land on November 12, subscribing before then takes care of both at once. Free players who want to stay free just need to log in with every character they care about before the deadline.
