Several centuries ago, the greatest threat the galaxy has ever known emerged in the form of the dark Sith Empire. After a volatile war, the Republic emerged victorious and the Sith were assumed to be extinct. Nonetheless, the Jedi have maintained a constant vigil over the ancient Sith homeworld, Korriban, to protect the galaxy from the darkness that still resides in the planet's tombs.

Despite the Republic's initial losses in the Great War, the Jedi successfully repelled the Sith Empire's attacks on the Core Worlds. Citizens believed they were safe on Coruscant, and for many, that led to an idyllic hope that the Republic would win the war. That hope was shattered when the Sith deceived the Republic's leaders, sacked Coruscant, and destroyed the Jedi Temple.

For centuries, Tatooine was of little interest to the rest of the galaxy -- until the Czerka Corporation showed up five hundred years before the start of Star Wars: The Old Republic, finding the planet's hostile environment proved to be the perfect place for a Secret Weapons division.

The site of a massive battle between the Republic and the Sith Empire, the planet is strewn with abandoned military technology. In Star Wars: The Old Republic, both sides have returned to reclaim what's left of their war machines, and Hoth has become a point of considerable contention. Despite the peace and the planet's remote location, skirmishes have broken out often, and now both superpowers have become entrenched -- committed to fighting for Hoth until the cold, bitter end.