Released in 2003, Bioware’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic RPG is remembered today as a classic in both the genre and the license. Though it only has one full-fledged sequel to its name, its careful blend of prequel and original trilogy tropes allowed it at release to define an almost previously untouched era of Star Wars history, and tell an original story unfettered by previous continuity that has stuck with gamers to this day. Serving as the basis for EA’s still-running The Old Republic MMORPG and recently having had some key story elements somewhat canonized by both Star Wars: Rebels and supplementary material for The Rise of Skywalker, now it seems Knights of the Old Republic might be getting a modern facelift, according to an exclusive story from Cinelinx.
Late last week, Cinelinx EIC Jordan Maison posted a story to the site explaining that two independent sources had told him that a KOTOR remake is in the works. Though Maison acknowledges that the site had previously incorrectly reported on a KOTOR remake back in 2015, he also asserts that the new sources are reliable and proven, having correctly predicted Ewan McGregor’s involvement in Disney+’s Obi-Wan show earlier last year.
According to Maison’s story, a KOTOR remake is now in development at EA, with the additional scoop that it might be less of a direct retelling and more of a reimagining, both of the first game and its sequel.
“My other source added to that saying they felt it wasn’t so much a remake, but a ‘sequel’ of sorts,” Maison writes. “It would be a Knights of the Old Republic project that would integrate elements from the first two games in order to bring certain things into the current Star Wars canon.”
This makes sense, as while Knights of the Old Republic holds valuable name recognition and mostly takes place in a standalone era that could mostly easily work with the new canon, certain small details such as Korriban being the original Sith homeworld or KOTOR II’s depiction of Malachor V no longer fit within the Disney canon.
These are all the details Maison has for now, though they do fit with other recent rumors of Disney planning to shift focus to the “High Republic” era in the near future, which also takes place significantly earlier than any of the current live action movies.
We don’t have any word yet on which studio would develop the new KOTOR project, though given that original KOTOR developer Bioware is still with EA, it seems likely that they would handle the project. They have, after all, continued to iterate the KOTOR IP throughout the 2010s through their work on their The Old Republic MMORPG, which released its most recent expansion, Onslaught, in October of last year.
However, given that KOTOR II was actually developed not by Bioware, but rather by Outer Worlds developer Obsidian Entertainment, Bioware may not be alone on a potential merger of both games. While Obsidian itself is owned by Xbox Game Studios and not EA, KOTOR II lead designer and Obsidian co-founder Chris Avellone did offer freelance writing for recent EA game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, putting him within the studio’s reach.
News of a potential new KOTOR game is both exciting and a little scary. While it would be great to see the franchise return in a more modern light, as well as give some additional care to the infamously rushed KOTOR II, the current KOTOR lore is an integral part of the The Old Republic MMO. Were a remake to rewrite the lore in a way that negates The Old Republic, it could mean that game might soon be taken offline. Though The Old Republic is a smaller player in the MMO space, having been forced to switch to a free-to-play model a year after it launched, its unique focus on story and presentation gives it a playstyle unlike many genre juggernauts. Losing that could threaten an already shrinking genre with a greater sense of claustrophobia than already exists, as well as make players who appreciate the direction the MMO took the era’s story feel as isolated as EU fans did when Disney declared the extended universe non-canon.
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