The Star Wars: The Old Republic Website announces December 20, 2011 is now the global simultaneous launch date for Star Wars: The Old Republic. This represents a change in plans, as last month BioWare announced the European release of the Star Wars MMORPG would be two days after the game's North American launch. Word is:

Those who have pre-ordered the game and redeemed their Pre-Order Code at the Code Redemption Center before the game’s official release are eligible for Early Game Access as well as an in-game ‘Color Stone’ to change the color of your weapon’s visual effects. If you haven’t yet reserved your copy of the game, be sure to visit our Pre-Order page and secure your place in the Old Republic now!

On related notes, the game's website also offers a new "Signs of War" trailer showing some diplomacy failures in action, and the site now offers a new operation page with word on these large-scale multi-group missions.