KOTOR Remake is in Serious Trouble | Star Wars

KOTOR Remake is in Serious Trouble | Star Wars
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The upcoming Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake is on indefinite hold following the recent firings of two key directors, Bloomberg reports.

Known mostly for port development, Aspyr Media announced its full-on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake as part of an official PlayStation 5 showcase held last September. But since then, the project’s reportedly hit more than a few bumps in the road.

Despite internal excitement following the production of a vertical slice for Lucasfilm and Sony in June, Aspyr leadership told staff that the project just wasn’t where it needed to be. A week later, design director Brad Prince and art director Jason Minor were fired. Minor confirmed as much via LinkedIn last month but provided no reason for the departure.

According to Bloomberg’s sources, Aspyr’s studio heads held a series of meetings throughout July to discuss the game’s status, telling employees that development would need to be paused as the company sought out more contract work. And while, early on, Aspyr told partners the Knights of the Old Republic remake was targeting a late 2022 release, developers now say the far-off 2025 is more realistic.

Some close to development also say too much time and money was spent on the demo sent to Aspyr’s production partners, and that maintaining the project’s current course was no longer sustainable.

Aspyr’s parent company, Saber Interactive, announced it would be assisting in the development of the Knights of the Old Republic remake back in May.

“We’re fully confident that the game is going to be fantastic, but it’s a massive, massive product and massive products require a lot of effort and a lot of time to make good,” Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch told investors of parent company Embracer Group at the time. “And especially when you’re talking about a game [that’s] already old—very old—we’ve basically had to remake that game from scratch.”