The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake studio is changing that. According to a Bloomberg report, the much-awaited role-playing game will now be developed by Saber Interactive’s Eastern European studio. Late last month, production on the title was reportedly halted until further notice, leading to the firing of two of Aspire Media’s top employees. Embraer Group, which owns both studios, hinted at the transition in its financial earnings report last week. The KOTOR remake was in development for three years, with plans to launch on PC and PS5 by the end of 2022. Now, we may not see it until 2025.
This change shuts down any hope of Aspire Media employees to continue development on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake. “One of the group’s AAA projects has moved to another studio within the group. This was done to make sure the quality bar is where we need it for the title. We based on this transition to the title. Not expecting any content delays,” said Embraer Group. financial report reads. At the time, the company never mentioned the name of the project or the studio involved. But Bloomberg claims that it is the KOTOR remake that Embraer was referring to.
Previous reports said that the KOTOR remake went through an internal demo showcase. Titled “Vertical Slice,” Aspire “finally” revealed the demo to partners Sony and Lucasfilm, who weren’t satisfied with the results. In response, the company abruptly fired design director Brad Prince and art director Jason Minor, halting further development. Aspire Media was responsible for creating the original 2003 version and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. According to bloombergGiven the circumstances, the more realistic release target is now 2025.
Also last week, Embraer Group acquired the IP rights to literary works The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. The acquisition of Middle-earth Enterprises will allow the group to work on multiple projects over the long term, and adds to Embraer’s existing list of more than 800 owned properties.
Set thousands of years before the films of George Lucas, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is based on an earlier comic book series, deriving gameplay elements from Dungeons & Dragons. The RPG features goal-based combat with time constraints, and an alignment system that tracks players’ actions and dialogues throughout the game to determine which side they align. It is often considered one of the greatest Star Wars games of all time.
While we’re still a long way from launch, the official Aspire Media website — which hasn’t been updated yet — suggests that the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake will drop on PC and PS5.
