Without a doubt, the reports earlier this year indicating that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was getting remade blew the minds of fans everywhere. It’s something fans have been begging for on the same level as Mass Effect until the Legendary Edition released, but the silence around the supposed KOTOR project since then has been concerning. Reportedly, a proper Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is in development at Aspyr, but nowhere has that been confirmed.
Of course, development is no easy task, and if the reports are true, fans will hopefully see the results of their patience one day. However, the complexity of a Knights of the Old Republic remake is further complicated by the sheer variety of business and political dealings surrounding the game. No matter how one looks at it, though, the earliest fans should expect an announcement is next year.
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It should first be noted that what follows is pure speculation based on what limited amount of information there is about the original game’s release, the various changes since then, EA’s current Star Wars exclusivity contract, and Disney/Lucasfilm Games’ involvement in the franchise. As such, there is a wide margin of error here and should be taken as just that, speculation.
When it comes to Star Wars and anything made under that banner, that’s all up to Disney. Of all the hands in the cookie Jar, Disney is the top dog. However, way back when, Disney and EA had signed an exclusivity contract that gave the latter (with exceptions) the sole rights to make Star Wars games. Disney had a lot of say so in what games were made and how, which was shown when Disney intervened during the Star Wars: Battlefront 2 microtransaction scandal.
Now, that exclusivity contract isn’t necessarily a point of contention with Aspyr making a Knights of the Old Republic remake. Exceptions have obviously included The Lego Star Wars games, which have thus far been handled by developer Traveller’s Tales, while the variety of ports have been handled by Aspyr. However, it’s clear that Disney is ready to move beyond that contract and its limitations, as shown with the formation of Lucasfilm Games and the announcement of Ubisoft’s open-world Star Wars game.
Lucasfilm Games has reportedly been quite aggressive since its formation too. While there’s not a lot of details out there, there are quite a few Star Wars games rumored or confirmed to be in development too, and once that exclusive contract ends (in 2023), there is room for a potential flood of Star Wars games. Of course, the question then becomes how Disney ensures that each game lives up to the quality of the brand. Lucasfilm Games is that answer.
To continue the analogy, Disney owns the cookie jar that is Star Wars. EA was the only one allowed to get as many cookies as it could handle out, while Disney doled out specific flavors of cookies to other companies. However, as that contract comes to an end, there are a lot more cookies of all varieties to go around. Lucasfilm Games serves as the one giving out cookies instead of letting one more hand grab all it wants, thereby ensuring what Disney wants to see come out of the cookie jar. With that, it’s worth looking at KOTOR specifically.
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The biggest question regarding the Knights of the Old Republic remake are all the hands that were originally in the jar. The first game was developed by BioWare and had been published by LucasArts and EA. LucasArts then is akin to Lucasfilm Games now in terms of impact on the game, which is why LucasArts also had the choice to give Kotor 2 to Obsidian Entertainment. While EA was *a* publisher, it was not the primary one, and it had borrowed from the Star Wars brand to create this sub-franchise.
Then, of course, Aspyr ported Kotor in the past, which goes to show that EA probably isn’t directly involved with the game, as it was reported. These ports, as well as the second game being made by Obsidian, show that Disney greenlighting the remake at Aspyr reduces the oddities around the cookie jar to a simple cookie giveaway. Disney giving Apyr the KOTOR remake works, allowing the games to be made outside EA, but that’s also where the exclusivity contract comes in.
The announcement of the Ubisoft Star Wars game was heavily limited, so as to make a real splash with the return of Lucasfilm Games but also likely honor EA’s exclusivity. Moreover, since the contract doesn’t end until 2023, that’s the earliest any major non-EA Star Wars game could release. Assuming, as it should, that a remake of Knights of the Old Republic falls under the category of “major non-EA Star Wars game,” then 2023 is the earliest it could be released.
Release and reveal may be too different things. Disney/Lucasfilm Games seemingly has the most say so here, and while they may hold off on revealing too much due to the contract, it stands to reason that the companies would want something hard to hit as soon as the contract is up. If the development reports are correct, then it stands to reason that pulling back the curtain and sorting the hands in the cookies jars would be okay at a specific point. The likeliest point with that in consideration is a mid-to-late 2022 announcement/reveal for a post-EA contract release in 2023 in regards to the Kotor Remake.
Now, it’s worth reiterating that this is speculation on a game released in 2003 that belongs to a brand that has changed hands since then, has involved both new and now-defunct studio names, involves contracts, and more. It’s all complicated, and further complications do exist: the COVID-19 pandemic, the pressure on Aspyr (which has quite a few BioWare vets there, still), the exact details of EA’s contract, and more. Either way, what seems safe to say is that silence this year isn’t the end-all be-all for the KOTOR remake, and that next year should see more about the future of Star Wars open up. What better way to announce that future than with a fresh vision of the past.
Knights of the Old Republic Remake is reportedly in development.
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