The previously-announced Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake has reportedly been delayed indefinitely. Longtime Star Wars PC port developer Aspyr Media took many fans by surprise when it announced that it was working on a next-gen remake of the beloved 2003 RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic during last September’s Sony PlayStation Showcase livestream - especially as it was revealed to be a PlayStation 5-exclusive title at launch.
This announcement sent shockwaves throughout the Star Wars gaming fandom, especially given that the original KOTOR is considered by many to be one of the greatest Star Wars video games of all time. Aside from the remake apparently being exclusive to the PS5 at first, many fans have speculated on how this new version of Knights of the Old Republic would change the gameplay established by original developer BioWare and whether it would borrow from more contemporary RPGs like 2020's Final Fantasy VII Remake. Others wondered if KOTOR Remake's story would be altered to fit in Disney's rebooted Star Wars Expanded Universe canon, especially after KOTOR main character Darth Revan was referenced in new media like 2019's Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. Now it appears that these answers might not come anytime soon, as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake has reportedly been postponed for the foreseeable future.
Earlier today, gaming news writer and industry insider Jason Schreier reported that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake has been put on hold indefinitely due to a major shake-up at developer Aspyr, as chronicled in his latest article for Bloomberg. The studio reportedly fired two of its directors in early July and informed the rest of its staff that its latest project has been paused until it can figure out what comes next in the wake of this upheaval. Before this, Aspyr is said to have finalized a “vertical slice” demo of KOTOR Remake to show production partners Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC and Sony Group Corp - and that the staff involved were reportedly pleased and excited at their work before news of this delay hit.
KOTOR Remake Is Delayed Due To Issues At Aspyr
However, Aspyr studio heads would later tell the staff that this vertical slice (a brief snippet of gameplay meant to serve as a proof of concept during development) wasn't where they expected it to be shortly after design director Brad Prince and art director Jason Minor were let go - and one insider claims that a disproportionate amount of time and money had gone into this demo. Another complication would come in the timetable that Asypr established to release Star Wars: KOTOR Remake. According to two other inside sources, Aspyr told its staff and partners that the game could be released by the end of 2022, while the development staff countered by stating that 2025 would be a more obtainable launch window.
Unfortunately, it appears that staff issues and upheaval at Aspyr have resulted in the hotly-anticipated Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake being delayed indefinitely. Only time will tell if and when the studio will resume work on this exciting project, but for now it seems like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake won’t be released anytime soon. In the meantime, Star Wars gaming fans at least have next year’s Star Wars Jedi: Survivor to look forward to as this story unfolds.
Source: Bloomberg (via Jason Schreier/Twitter)