I've been waiting for a KOTOR remake was announced in 2021, it seemed like a great opportunity to bring a Star Wars classic back, but the time in between has been more troubling than encouraging. For years, it's felt like there's been more bad news for those of us who want a new game than good news.
A KOTOR remake would be great, especially if it was done to the standard of quality set by some recent games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth. Over the years, though, my faith in the project has continually waned. With any other game, a new update would be a good thing, but it's hard to believe anything good will come until it actually does.
It Sounds Like The KOTOR Remake Is Still On
For Now, Fans Can Keep Hope Alive
Recent comments from Saber Interactive, the company making the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake, try to address ongoing worries about the project. Tim Willits, the Chief Creative Officer, tweeted that "Everything we have talked about is still in development...", seemingly alluding to KOTOR along with the studio's other games. It's a relatively positive update, but it's still not entirely reassuring.
Willits' tweet doesn't give any specific details about the KOTOR remake. While it's easy to assume its inclusion in the implied pool of games, the lack of details surrounding development progress follows a pattern from the company. Back in April 2024, CEO Matthew Karch told first official update in months and was followed by more silence, but this update is even less informative than the last.
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However anemic it may be, this is nonetheless an update, and it is clear that every project announced is still being worked on, so fans should be assured that it hasn't been officially canceled yet. The official stance is that the game is being made, and there is still hope to get some fixes to the glaring romance issues and other weaknesses of the original KOTOR.
The Star Wars KOTOR Remake Has A Complex History
I'm Surprised It Wasn't Outright Canceled
The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake was announced in 2021 during the PlayStation Showcase Event, but a 2022 report stated that the remake had been delayed indefinitely, bringing its ultimate fate into question. At this point, the remake was being developed at Aspyr Media, known for handling game ports to platforms like MacOS. The situation worsened when the trailer video was taken down in 2023, leaving the official Star Wars website as one of the only places hosting the showcase video. While there were already some signs of issues, the trailer getting taken down was the biggest clue that might be seriously wrong.
Although his is now inactive and protected, journalist Jason Schreier reported the delay on X with details that Aspyr had fired two directors and told the staff the project was on pause.
The final nail in the coffin for me was when the Star Wars KOTOR remake was in real trouble.
Around the same time that Embracer started to restructure, development of the KOTOR remake shifted to Saber Interactive, which was then Aspyr's parent company under the Embracer umbrella. Saber was later divested from Embracer in 2024, while Aspyr stayed behind as a direct Embracer subsidiary. Between the development pauses and the shifting corporate history, the development of the KOTOR remake has never been stable.
I'll Believe The KOTOR Remake When I See It
There's Only So Many Times You Can Say Things
The recent update may sound promising to someone who has not kept up with the development of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake, but it doesn't sound as certain to me. This doubt doesn't come from negativity; it comes from having been aware of the project's rocky history. While Saber Interactive may indeed have the project in active development, there's nothing to show that it's any closer to release now than it was several years ago.
It would be easy to compare this wait to the long development cycles for games like Grand Theft Auto 6 or The Elder Scrolls 6, but the situations are very different. Rockstar and Bethesda have been actively working on other projects, and the success of their companies and the scale of the games make for an inherently long process. It's not hard to believe that these projects are in productive development when the companies have been so financially secure and still release great titles.
It has been four years, but there have not been any gameplay or trailers shown for the KOTOR remake since its initial announcement.
Willitis is right that Saber Interactive is a major independent developer, but it isn't clear how many resources it can dedicate to a project on the scale of the KOTOR remake. A major Star Wars title is a big gamble, and while the blueprint for a successful remake is there, it may take longer to make than the developer could expect.
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While it's understandable that Saber would prefer to avoid over-promising anything for the time being, it's hard to believe in the progress of a troubled project that's still only being referred to in vague . Announcing something so early that there's not much to give fans is something that rarely works out well. Bethesda director and producer Todd Howard gave a great example of this when he told GQ he regretted announcing The Elder Scrolls 6 so early. While it drums up a lot of hype, that can end up falling flat soon after.
To date, the official announcements have done nothing more than confirm that the game hasn't been outright canceled. According to the tweet from Willitis, the company will give information it has something "cool to share." Hopefully, the developer will have something that meets this standard soon. Until it does, the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake hardly seems more certain now than it did years ago.
Sources: Tim Willits/X, IGN, Star Wars, Jason Schrieir/X, Volition/X, GQ
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
-
- Top Critic Avg: 83/100 Critics Rec: 85%
- Released
- July 15, 2003
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Violence
- Developer(s)
- BioWare
- Publisher(s)
- LucasArts
- Engine
- Odyssey Engine
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