A highly anticipated title, Star Wars Knights of The Old Republic was set to receive a remake sometime in the near future. However, it seems that development is in trouble and a studio shakeup is underway, and now, Knights of the Old Republic has been reportedly delayed.
In a report by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, developers at Austin-based Aspyr Media have indefinitely delayed work on Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. Schreier also added that ”Aspyr also abruptly fired the game’s art director and design director this month.”
Knights of the Old Republic is set to be a remake of the original 2003 KOTOR, a highly popular role-playing game developed by BioWare. The story follows Revan, who players command and can adjust the story of via decisions and actions allowed throughout the game. The remake was announced September 2021, with no potential release date given at the time. Most speculated that the remake would release in 2024-2025, but now it seems that it may take longer than that.
As EA’s license on Star Wars games expires, many studios are looking towards making their own Star Wars games, including Ubisoft, Quantic Dream, and more.
According to Schreier, who received information from individuals familiar with the matter, Aspyr had finalized a gameplay demo on June 30 to show Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC and Sony Group Corp. The developers believed they were on track at the time. About a week after, design director Brad Prince and art director Jason Minor were both fired, with Minor suggesting ”on a social media page that his dismissal was unexpected.”
Apparently, leadership at Aspyr did not believe that the gameplay demo was where they wanted to be and that the project would be paused. ”At the outset of development, Aspyr told staff and partners it would release the game by the end of 2022, according to two people familiar with production. Developers said a more realistic target now would be 2025.”
As of right now, no clear fate is present for Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. The delay may certainly comes as a disappointment to many. However, it is not the first delay announced in 2022, as several major studios continue to announce delays.
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Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
