Saber Interactive, the developer of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake, has reportedly left the Swedish parent gaming company Embracer Group AB in a $500 million deal to become a privately owned company, Bloomberg reports.
This marks the first time the developer left the company since it went on a layoff and acquisition spree. In a November 2023 presentation, Embracer's Lars Wingefors declined to respond to a question about a KOTOR remake during a financial presentation, saying: “I notice that anything I say to this becomes a headline, so that is my only comment."
Earlier this month, Embracer also confirmed that during a six-month period last year, it cancelled 29 unannounced games. Embracer first acquired Saber in 2020 for $525 million, a deal which gave the studio an option to bring "multiple" Embracer subsidiaries with it, but the company didn't reveal which (if any) will depart. It's also unclear how the deal will affect other projects in development at Saber.
Last December, Saber announced Jurassic Park: Survival, a single-player action-adventure game, which is set after the events of Steven Spielberg's 1993 blockbuster movie.
Is the Knights of the Old Republic remake still coming?
According to Bloomberg, the troubled remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is still in the works, but the details are still unclear about the highly-anticipated game's release date, gameplay elements, and story.
The remake was originally billed as a collabroation between Saber studio Aspyr Media and production partners Sony Interactive Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games, and it was originally announced as a timed PlayStation 5 console exclusive during September 2021's PlayStation Showcase event.
Since then, the project has faced problems, but according to a report in November, it was still in the works. The trailer for the remake was taken down last September, leading fans to believe that the project was canceled. However, PlayStation explained to Kotaku that the trailer was removed because of issues with licensed music in the trailer. "As part of normal business, we delist assets with licensed music when the licenses expire," Sony wrote in an email sent to Kotaku. The only music in the trailer seems to be the main Star Wars theme which is owned by Disney.
