Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remains one of BioWare’s most iconic games, establishing key parts of the RPG formula the studio would continue to develop throughout the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. Almost two decades since the release of Revan’s story, many fans are still hoping to return to BioWare’s unique take on the galaxy far, far away sometime in the not-too-distant future.
The future of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has been subject to a lot of speculation, however. The announcement that several new Star Wars TV shows and games were in development earlier this year had many fans hoping that a KOTOR remake—or perhaps even a third game—might be on the way. Here’s a history of the Knights of the Old Republic rumors, why some are more reliable than others, and what it all might mean for the franchise over the next few years.
The KOTOR Remake
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic came out back in 2003, and with BioWare having released Mass Effect: Legendary Edition earlier this year, it’s no surprise that many Star Wars fans see KOTOR as a natural candidate for a remake or remaster. Back at the start of the year, Star Wars account known as Bespin Bulletin, which has been reliable in the past, stated that a KOTOR remake was in development. The claim also stated that EA was not going to be involved in the remake.
Back in April Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier also claimed that a Knights of the Old Republic remake was in development at Aspyr Media on the MinnMax podcast. EA and BioWare, he said, would not be involved. Aspyr Media is known for porting Star Wars games rather than remaking them. The smaller studio handled the re-releases of Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Outcast, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, and the KOTOR games themselves.
Bespin Bulletin also cited Schreier as one of its sources, so it is possible these rumors are victim to something of an information feedback loop. If nothing else, they depend heavily on Schreier, though like Bespin Bulletin, he has been right before. Doubts remain, however. While many fans are hopeful about the KOTOR remake, others have questioned why a studio that has only handled ports so far would be tasked with delivering a full remake of one of BioWare’s most iconic games.
Any remaster would see considerable upgrades made to KOTOR’s graphics, but the possibility of a full remake also has some fans wondering if they can expect an overhaul of Knights of the Old Republic’s combat system as well. In April 2021 YouTuber MrMattyPlays claimed that KOTOR's combat system would undergo an overhaul in the remake. The game’s original combat system was turn-based in the style of earlier RPGs and TTRPGs. It’s still ultimately unknown if Aspyr will try and create more modern combat or stay true to the original, but MrMattyPlays has been discussing the possibility of an Aspyr-made KOTOR remake for some time.
It has been speculated that the KOTOR remake is likely still in very early development, and there may be reasons for Aspyr to hold off announcing the game until a later date than necessary. While several Star Wars games are reportedly in development from studios like Aspyr and Ubisoft Massive, EA still holds the exclusive rights to publish the Star Wars franchise’s video games for now. It’s possible that fans will get more news once EA’s contract expires.
Knights Of The Old Republic 3
The Knights of the Old Republic 3 and KOTOR remake rumors ultimately have the same origins. A Jason Schreier post from December 2020 mentioned that a Knights of the Old Republic-related project was in the works, but that it wouldn’t be handled by a team linked to EA.
While that game now appears to be the KOTOR remake being developed at Aspyr Media, some other insiders have suggested that a third game may still be in development. Industry insider Shinobi602 and the Bespin Bulletin podcast both claimed that a new game was in the works. While both seemed to suggest it was Knights of the Old Republic 3, their comments were also in line with Schreier’s later reports about a remake.
There were a few rumors that a new Knights of the Old Republic game could be set during the High Republic era, a new part of the Star Wars timeline that was announced as the setting of several new pieces of Star Wars media back in 2020. Although some fans were excited by the possibility of a High Republic RPG, there was ultimately little evidence to suggest that a new game was being developed for the High Republic setting specifically.
Knights of the Old Republic 3 rumors were fueled by a few more events as well. In February 2021 Aspyr Media was acquired by Embracer Group, once called THQ Nordic. Embracer Group then announced that Aspyr was going to have a budget of $70 million to work on a triple-A release related to a licensed property.
Some former BioWare employees were even hired by Aspyr around the same time. While this again fueled a lot of KOTOR 3 rumors, it seems likely in light of Jason Schreier’s later comments that this was all in preparation for the development of the KOTOR remake.
It’s not all bad news for KOTOR fans who were hoping for a third game, however. If former BioWare developers are on board, the fact that the remake is being handled by Aspyr rather than BioWare directly may not be such a bad thing.
Nevertheless, a KOTOR remake seems far more likely at this point than a third KOTOR game. While there’s now quite a bit of evidence pointing to a KOTOR remake in the works at Aspyr Media, even that has yet to be announced officially. Fans hoping for a third game may not be in luck, and those eager to return to Revan’s story may have to wait until EA’s Star Wars contract expires for more official news.
A Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake is rumored to be in development.