Report: Development for Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic Remake Cancelled
Sony's removal of the announcement trailer from YouTube and social media fuels speculations that the highly anticipated Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic Remake is no longer being developed
According to Jeff Grubb from Giant Bomb's Game Mess Mornings, Embracer Group's troubled Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake is no longer actively being developed. Initially led by Aspyr Media and later announced as a collaboration between Aspyr Media and Saber Interactive, the project is currently on hold.
Grubb categorically stated that the game is not currently being worked on by any studio, dispelling any rumors to the contrary. This comes in response to a report last year which indicated that the game had faced an indefinite delay after the termination of two key developers at Aspyr. Furthermore, it was rumored that Saber Interactive had assumed complete control over the game's development. Although Embracer, the publisher, has not officially confirmed the transfer of the project to another studio, they did mention in August 2022 that one of their "AAA projects" had been transitioned within the company group to uphold the desired level of quality for the title.
A PlayStation Showcase in 2021 revealed the announcement of a remake for BioWare's beloved 2003 Star Wars RPG on PlayStation 5 and PC, co-published by Sony. However, in September of this year, Sony unexpectedly removed any references to the title from its YouTube and social media platforms, causing worry about the future of the project. Sony attributed the removal to the expiration of licensed music, but this explanation did little to ease fan concerns. Although Sony has not provided further details, it appears that they have no interest in continuing with the project. According to Grubb, the only potential savior for the project would be Lucasfilm.
"The game can only become a reality if Lucasfilm assumes full control and undertakes all the necessary efforts to revive it," stated Grubb. "In my opinion, the likelihood of this game happening is non-existent at the moment."
When questioned about the progress of the Knights of the Old Republic remake in a recent financial presentation, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors responded, "I've noticed that anything I discuss regarding this matter quickly becomes a major news headline, so I choose to limit my comment to that."
Aspyr Media has faced prior challenges with a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic game, and the recent remake of Knights of the Old Republic is not an exception. Initially, Aspyr intended to include the game's cut content as downloadable content (DLC) for their remaster of Knights of the Old Republic II on Nintendo Switch. However, the studio later retracted the promise of restored content DLC and instead offered purchasers of the game a free Star Wars game of their choice. This decision triggered a class-action lawsuit against Aspyr, as disgruntled fans accused the developer of deceptive advertising. Aspyr has responded by expressing its intention to release the DLC, yet it claims to have been prevented from doing so due to objections from an undisclosed third-party.
Editor's P/S
As a Gen Z fan, I am deeply saddened by the news that the development of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake has been canceled. I have been eagerly anticipating this game since it was first announced, and I was looking forward to experiencing the classic RPG with updated graphics and gameplay. I understand that game development is a complex and challenging process, but I am disappointed that this project has been unable to overcome the obstacles it has faced.
I am also concerned about the future of Star Wars games in general. The cancellation of the Knights of the Old Republic Remake suggests that there may be a lack of interest in Star Wars games among publishers and developers. I hope that this is not the case, and that we will continue to see new Star Wars games in the future.
