Reports indicate that the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake has recently been given a new developer with Saber Interactive, which should give fans fresh hope that the project will get made. Originally released for Xbox and Windows in 2003, KOTOR told the story of former Jedi Knight and Sith Lord Revan, who lived nearly four thousand years before the Galactic Empire. As players progress through the story, they can turn Revan into a reformed Jedi Master or a Dark Lord of the Sith by the end of the game. The freedom of character progression gave players plenty of options, including the ability to develop force powers like Mind Trick and Force Lightning or wield a blaster and rain fire on their enemies.
The KOTOR remake has been in development with ASPYR Media for the past three years with no set time for its release. The company, which Embracer Group owns, gave Sony a teaser trailer during its fall showcase last September. Saber Interactive has been giving Aspyr help during the remake's development, bringing in Saber's experience with bringing older games to life with the Halo series. However, two lead developers from Apyr were fired, putting the KOTOR remake on pause for a brief period. It has recently been announced that Saber Interactive will take over the entire project rather than share it with Aspyr Media.
The shift of removing Aspyr from the project altogether should alleviate some fans' fears, given the reception of one of Saber Interactive's recent releases. Much like the best Sam Raimi movies, Evil Dead: The Game was reviewed well by critics and fans alike, which will likely go a long way toward those worried about KOTOR's fate. Evil Dead: The Game holds up as a faithful experience in the franchise and provides an excellent asymmetrical co-op and PvP game to fans of the series. The graphics quality alone is likely beyond what fans might have expected for an Evil Dead game, making the potential graphical upgrade Saber could bring to KOTOR a stronger expectation. The attention to detail brought to Evil Dead: The Game should go a long way toward assuaging fears that KOTOR's remake might fail to release.
KOTOR Remake Should Thrive Under Saber Interactive's Team
The same faithfulness Saber brought to Evil Dead will hopefully overshadow any smaller changes in the Star Wars: KOTOR remake's canon, with the galaxy potentially looking and feeling more real than it ever has. There is also the possibility that Saber brings in cut content from the original 2003 version or takes features from the sequel, Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords.
Yet the sad truth is that fans of the old Star Wars canon may have to wait longer than they desire for Revan to be brought back. That said, at least with Saber Interactive taking complete control, it feels like confidence in an eventual release date is much more assured. For those who cannot wait, however, the original version of the RPG classic still holds up aside from now-outdated graphics, and there are plenty of ways to experience KOTOR on Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, PC, and Xbox. The original game will have to suffice for the time being, but with any luck, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic's remake will be worth the inevitable wait.