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Last month, there was a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices cried out in terror due to reports that the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake was indefinitely delayed. It's no secret that KOTOR remains one of the most popular Star Wars games to date, and fans have begged for a threequel or a remake for years. Their wishes were seemingly answered when Aspyr announced it was working on the remake at the PlayStation Showcase last year.
Once the initial excitement passed, there were plenty of concerns. It has nothing to do with the trailer not really being representative of the game, but the KOTOR Remake would be, by far, Aspyr's biggest project. It has never tackled something of this magnitude before, and while there should always be support for the underdogs, this really isn't the time. The release of The Force Unleashed and the initially bugged and broken port of KOTOR 2 on Switch, both from Aspyr, didn't inspire confidence, and it seems the writing was on the wall for the KOTOR Remake delay.
According to the initial report by Bloomberg, this internal Knights of the Old Republic Remake delay came as a result of executives not being impressed by a demonstration of the game, despite Aspyr feeling good about it. This led to two major developers on the game being fired, its development being indefinitely paused, and Aspyr looking at other work, after working on this title for around 3 years. Now, while publisher Embracer Group did not name names, it recently confirmed one of its titles was being transferred to another developer: "This was done to ensure the quality bar is where we need it to be for the title. We are not expecting any material delays for the title based on this transition.”
Bloomberg's report stated that some Aspyr developers believed Saber Interactive would take over the project, as it had been assisting, and although not outright confirmed, this is indeed likely the situation now. It's very possible that the now-Saber-led development on the KOTOR Remake is moving again, and that's exciting for many fans, but unfortunately, this isn't necessarily the good news fans want.
Knights of the Old Republic is Showing the First Major Red Flag of Development Hell
Whereas Aspyr apparently intended to release the KOTOR Remake in 2022, new estimates make 2025 more realistic. Saber Interactive has more experience with high-profile IPs outside Star Wars, having worked on highly-reviewed titles like the Halo: Combat Evolved Remake, the Halo Master Chief Collection, and the Switch port of The Witcher 3, but this changing of hands and new estimate are a red flag. It seems KOTOR Remake could be in the earliest stages of development hell.
For context, Dead Island 2 is perhaps the most definitive 'in-development hell' title right now. It was revealed in E3 2014 but has changed hands multiple times since then, with nothing known about the game 8 years later despite it getting an initial trailer at the reveal. Recent leaks suggest Dead Island 2's release date is coming in February, but after such a strenuous development, many doubt this and question if it'll ever actually release. Within that, there is concern about the title's quality. Dead Island 2 may be in late-stage development hell, but KOTOR Remake is showing signs of early-stage development hell right now.
If Saber isn't up to the task, then it's possible Embracer will move the project again. And every changing of hands means a changing of vision and skill, means an extended development time, and means more things may be dialed back to meet publisher demands. Now, it would be great to be wrong. It would be great for Saber interactive to take this KOTOR Remake project, absolutely run away with it, have a smooth development from here on out (as smooth as development can be, anyway), and release the title to amazing reviews in 2025. But there's not much confidence in that now, and the project is one more mishap from definitively entering development hell.
Knights of the Old Republic Remake may have resumed development for PS5.
Source: Bloomberg