New Star Wars Remake Gets Delayed Indefinitely

Star Wars’ video game future feels like a bright one (at least in concept). No longer does EA have a stranglehold on the IP in the virtual space, allowing for any studio or developer to pitch their dream Star Wars games to Lucasfilm. While no fruits of this labor have been released as of yet, the list of upcoming Star Wars titles has continued to balloon. Amongst these are Star Wars: Eclipse, an unannounced open-world title from Ubisoft, and a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake.

The KOTOR remake was announced back in September 2021 as a full modern rebuild of the Bioware 2003 classic RPG. The project was set to be one of the first Star Wars titles released outside the Electronic Arts exclusivity deal.

However, those launch targets are seeming ever more unattainable as developer Aspyr Media devolves into turmoil.

Bumps in the KOTOR Remake Road

According to Bloomberg, development on the upcoming Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake has stalled and is in serious trouble.

Developer Aspyr Media has delayed the game indefinitely as the studio puts the game on ice for the foreseeable future. Bloomberg learned that the studio had recently fired the game’s art director and design director earlier this month, telling employees the studio would be stopping work on the project to seek contract development work.

This comes after the internal timeline for the project was up in the air. The studio supposedly targeted 2022 at the outset of development, while some staff believed it would not see the light of day until 2025 or later.

Will Knights of the Old Republic Remake Ever Release?

This is troubling news for anyone who was looking forward to the potential of a Knights of the Old Republic remake. The original KOTOR is one of the most beloved Star Wars games of all time, but it’s showing age after releasing nearly 20 years ago. Plus, there seems like to be some enthusiasm from Disney to somehow bring these characters to the mainline series.

This remake was rumored to do away with the turn-based combat system of the Bioware original, opening the game up to a broader audience. This move would have allowed more gamers to take in what is one of the best Star Wars stories ever told. But now, all that hope may be for naught.

Further in Bloomberg’s reporting, they talk about a vertical slice that was finished for the game and had developers excited. However, some believed that too much time and money were spent on the playable demo and it could not be sustained to see the project through.

Right now, it is unclear if fans will ever get to play this version of a KOTOR remake. While the game remains on ice at Aspyr, sister-studio Saber Interactive had recently been brought in to help with the title, and some believe they could potentially take over full development of the game.