A well-known industry insider recently shared a depressing prediction for theStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicremake, speculating that the much-anticipated game is never coming out. His grim forecast emerged just as the fandom started speculating that theKOTORremake might appear at Sony’s next PlayStation Showcase.
TheKOTORremake was originally announced with a September 2021 teaser which revealed that the game will be a timed PS5 exclusive before making its way to PC. And while the title initially targeted a 2022 launch, it ended up getting hit with an indefinite delay before publisher Embracer Group took the project from Texas-based Aspyr Media and gave it to Saber Interactive, another one of its subsidiaries. This turn of events, coupled with repeated insider accounts of a troubled development cycle, fueled speculation that theKOTORremake is merely a pipe dream.
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Established industry insider Jeff Grubb appears to share that sentiment, having predicted that the remake of the iconic 2003 RPG is never coming out. Grubb shared that forecast during the latest episode of hisGame Messpodcast after being asked whether he thinks theKOTORremake will come out before thePrince of Persia: The Sands of Timeremake. While thePrince of Persiaremake also appears lost to the sands of time, Grubb noted that he still expects that game to come out eventually.
As grim as these remarks are, they should not be interpreted as a death sentence for theKOTORremake. Aside from the fact that Grubb presented his insight as merely a prediction, it’s worth remembering that not everyone shares his pessimistic stance on the future of this troubled project. On the contrary, some industry watchers recently posited thatDead Island 2’sdevelopment hell inspires hope for theKOTORremake. Not least because it sets a precedent for a contemporary development cycle that managed to result in a critically acclaimed game in spite of its many difficulties, including multiple developer changes.
Whether Saber Interactive manages to defy the odds like Dambuster Studios did withDead Island 2remains to be seen. But as things stand right now, theKOTORremake is still far from going gold. According to the original August 2022 report about the project switching developers, sources close to Embracer estimated that the game will require at least two more years of intensive development following its transition to Saber. Assuming Grubb’s depressing prediction doesn’t come true, that would—at best—put theKnights of the Old Republicremake as a holiday 2024 release.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republicis in development for PC and PS5.
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