The highly-anticipated Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake, often referenced as KOTOR, gets a new update, and although it's just a brief one, it's considered positive as it confirms that the project is still in the works, which should assure many who doubted its future. It's been more than three years since the project was officially announced, and in July 2022, Bloomberg reported that the remake was "dead in the water". Parent company Embracer Group shifted the project to Saber Interactive. Embracer owned Saber until recently, when several studios were sold of to Beacon Interactive, where Matthew Karch, the co-founder and CEO of Saber, is the director. But the most recent update confirms that the project is still alive.
The latest update comes Saber Interactive CCO Tim Willits, who confirmed that the development team is "focused on development," and will update more "when the time is right."
Speaking to IGN, Willits said: "Right now, we are focused on development. We look forward to sharing more when the time is right".
Again, this update doesn't reveal anything significant about the Knights of the Old Republic Remake, but it sounds like the development is heading in the right direction. The remake is clearly in its early stages of development, and despite rumors about the project, and changes that will be made over the original KOTOR, nothing has officially been confirmed at this time.
If the remake is still planned as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, there's a chance that we might get a meaningful update during PlayStation State of Play. A new State of Play is rumored to come soon, but the KOTOR Remake will likely not be featured given the timelines of Saber Interactive's other projects. It's also possible that an update will be shared at The Game Awards this December, but it's unlikely that we'll find out anything major about the project this year.
Is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake still alive?
Originally billed as a collaboration between Aspyr Media and production partners Sony Interactive Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games, the KOTOR Remake was initially announced as a timed PlayStation 5 console exclusive during September 2021's PlayStation Showcase event. A teaser trailer was released but was taken down in September 2023, leading fans to believe that the remake was cancelled. However, PlayStation explained to Kotaku that the trailer was taken down 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 explained in an email sent to Kotaku.
Earlier this year, Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch confirmed in an interview with IGN that the KOTOR remake is still in active development:
"It's clear and it's obvious that we're working on this," Karch told the outlet. "It's been in the press numerous times. What I will say is that the game is alive and well, and we're dedicated to making sure we exceed consumer expectations."
While the lack of meaningful updates may lead fans to believe that the KOTOR Remake was cancelled, there was no official announcement about a cancellation. The latest update from Willits may be brief, but the confirmation that the team is still "focused on development" clearly means that the project is still alive.
