The highly anticipated remake of Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic (KOTOR) has had its development brought to an indefinite standstill. This news follows the games art director and design director being fired earlier in the month, after an early demo of the game was shown to Lucasfilm and Sony.
The game was set to be a remake of the much-loved 2003 classic of the same name, something that fans of the original have been begging for since the second game was released in 2005.
Whilst the KOTOR remake was first confirmed last September during Sony’s fall showcase, no release timeframe had been confirmed. Originally planned for release in 2022, Bloomberg believes that 2025 is a more “realistic target.”
The game is being developed by Aspyr Media, the company responsible for porting the original game to mobile and Nintendo Switch, however Saber Interactive, who is helping from development may take over “some at Aspyr believe” according to Bloomberg.
The original games were not met without development issues either. Whilst both KOTOR and KOTOR 2: The Sith Lords both achieved critical acclaim, the second game was released unfinished due to a tiny 14-month time frame and a skeleton team of developers enforced on BioWare and Obsidian by LucasArts. In that regard, a delay is absolutely preferable than for development to continue rushed and without the proper staff.
BioWare brought the DNA of KOTOR to other titles such as Mass Effect, and many of the former’s features have become staple in modern games.
Several members of the original KOTOR development team have returned to work with Aspyr on the title, which will be a PS5 console exclusive upon release. With any luck, development will be back on track quickly.
