At this point, it's been all but officially confirmed that a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake is happening. Earlier this week, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier announced during a guest spot on the MinnMax podcast that Aspyr Media is working on a KOTOR remake.
Aspyr is well known for its work porting plenty of classic Star Wars games to modern platforms, including the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series. If any company were to be working on a remake of the classic RPG, it makes sense that it would be Aspyr. With the current culture of video game remakes being dicey at times, though, consumers have been wary to accept and embrace every remake in the works. That said, Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 should absolutely be remade, not just the first one.
Star Wars Game Genres
Star Wars seems to be the perfect fit for video games as so many genres can be covered with the many different moments from the movies. First and third-person shooters could be made out of the battles waged during the Clone Wars, Sekiro-esque lightsaber fighting games would cover the climactic duels between Jedi and Sith, and/or even the controversial plots of the prequel trilogy could have their own Telltale-style decision-based adventure games. Knight of the Old Republic essentially covers all of these bases.
What a remake of Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 would do is remind people that Star Wars games can be so much more the, at times, underwhelming video game adaptations it's received in recent years. As the reins of Star Wars video games slowly start being taken away from EA, other developers are hopefully going to be inspired by KOTOR and create new games with interesting mechanics set in the Star Wars universe. The first one getting a remake could do just that, but the second one will only add more to the pile.
Star Wars Storytelling
The complete wipe of the Star Wars expanded universe back in 2014 raised quite the controversy. After that point, so much of the Star Wars canon was erased to allow Disney to create its sequel trilogy. Knights of the Old Republic leaned so heavily into much of the established Star Wars expanded lore that it served as something of a jumping-off point for fans.
KOTOR is a masterclass in deep storytelling that clearly paved the way for other narrative-based games like the Witcher, Deus Ex, and BioWare's follow-up to KOTOR: Mass Effect. If Knights of the Old Republic was remade, it could either focus on the same extended Star Wars lore, helping establish the canon once again (as many Disney properties have done).
When EA took over, Star Wars storytelling in video games was at an all-time low, but it has been steadily getting better, Jedi: Fallen Order being the best example in recent years, but the cancellation of projects like Star Wars 1313 caused Star Wars game narratives to take a blow. However, a return to the Knights of the Old Republic formula of narrative led by gameplay would do the franchise well at large.
Great Star Wars Game, But More Importantly, Just Great Games
In short, both Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games need a remake because the two entries are really solid games. They aren't great because they're Star Wars, they're great because BioWare crafted a personal narrative that was driven by player choice and action. Star Wars games need a reminder of what they can be as the license starts to be given to studios outside of EA.
With studios like Ubisoft working on new Star Wars projects, many developers would do well to look at an example of a great game that happens to also be a Star Wars game. That look would be a lot easier for fans and creators alike if Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 were remade for modern audiences.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is available now.