In late 2021, it was revealed at a Playstation Showcase that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was being remade by developer Aspyr Media. Coming to Playstation 5 and PC, the game would receive a from-the-ground-up remake treatment. However, recent news suggests that players may have to wait for their next trip to a galaxy far, far away.
Widely regarded as one of the top RPGs ever made, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic received lasting critical and fan acclaim since its original release in 2003. The sequel, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, garnered nearly as much acclaim (marred somewhat by complaints of it being rushed to meet a late 2004/early 2005 release window). Since then the Knights series has lain dormant (aside from Darth Revan now being Star Wars Canon) while other titles, most notably BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG, have taken up storytelling in the period. Aside from periodic expansions to The Old Republic, this was the players' lot until 2021, when the complete remake of the original Knights of the Old Republic was announced. Recent news has put a damper on things, however; in late July 2022 it was announced that the remake had been paused indefinitely amid a massive studio shakeup.
This news came as a shock to fans eagerly awaiting their return to the franchise, and while it is disheartening to hear that the game is in indefinite limbo, Playstation has the opportunity to ease fans' suffering by releasing ports (not remakes or remasters) of the original two games for Playstation 4 and 5. In addition to having some of the best Star Wars gaming moments, the games have already proven they can be ported to modern systems, with ports on the Switch being available, and with PlayStation fans suddenly being denied a Knights of the Old Republic game for the indefinite future, the time is right to port the games to PlayStation consoles to ease players' woes.
Ports Of Knights Of The Old Republic 1 And 2 Would Give Fans A Chance To Return To The Franchise While They Wait For The Remake
In June of 2022, the first and second Knights of the Old Republic were ported to the switch with cut content restored. While not full remasters or remakes, these releases showed that the games were more than capable of being played on modern consoles. With the release date of the Knights of the Old Republic Remake in jeopardy, it would make sense for Playstation to tide players over by giving them access to the originals in their best states, allowing those who had never experienced the Old Republic to do so while they wait for the modern reinterpretation.
Going one step further, this demonstrates how possible it would be to bring the originals to modern consoles when, despite not appearing at Star Wars Celebration 2022, BioWare cofounder who already tried to. Trent Oster, currently C.E.O. of Beamdog, posted a congratulatory tweet to Aspyr for their original announcement of the remake and beneath posted a sneak peek at a pitch his studio had formed to remaster the first two Knights of the Old Republic games, titled Knights of the Old Republic: Reforged Collection. From the titling, it appears that the "collection" would've included both games as opposed to just the first.
The news of the indefinite delay put a damper on celebrations many players were having at the prospect of revisiting their favorite sci-fi setting with modern graphics and conveniences. At this point, a chance to revisit Bastila, Revan, and the rest of the fan-favorite (now with possible changes thanks to the game being in canon) Knights of the Old Republic characters on a Playstation console, no matter the graphical fidelity would soothe players while Aspyr media gets the remake back on track. Playstation would be wise to release the games on their modern consoles so that players could get even a taste of the galaxy far, far away.