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KOTOR Remake On Hold
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Bloomberg reports that the remake of classic roleplaying game Knights of the Old Republic has been paused indefinitely after nearly three years in development.

As with the delay to Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora we wonder if this might be a mid-development pivot in response to the market.

Aspyr was acquired by The Embracer Group in February 2021 and made a subsidiary of Saber Interactive.

The remake was announced in September with improved visuals:

In terms of the visuals, we have an opportunity to present this story with a much higher level of fidelity than was possible in the past, while making sure that we’re being authentic to what people loved about the original game.

In May this year it was announced that Saber were working directly on the game.

On June 30 Aspyr completed a demo to show Lucasfilm and Sony, and the following week fired its design and art directors.

Now the game is paused.

Fantasy roleplaying game and runaway hit Elden Ring launched in February and raised the bar for video game visual standards.

What Aspyr regarded as improved but authentic to the original visuals in September last year might now simply not cut it.

In the interim Bethesda also revealed first details about their upcoming NASA punk rpg Starfield and space everything game No Man's Sky has continued to add features and expand existing ones.

The original KOTOR game was beloved in part because it was superior to other rpgs of the day.

Achieving the same impact might be near impossible for this or any other game but the remake can't afford to feel old and tired next to its competitors.

Here's a fun fact we weren't aware of before - in 2014 Lucasfilm rendered this and everything other than the films and Clone Wars animated series as non-canon.

Too much effort to keep track of it all so just wipe it clean.

How could fans who have invested huge amounts of time and money in the franchise not love that?

Perhaps there's also less interest in this remake than they originally hoped for.

Having enjoyed KOTOR back in its day we had been at least mildly curious about this one but now can't see the point.

The indefinitely paused KOTOR remake doesn't have an ETA.

[ Main Image: Star Wars KOTOR Remake trailer. Credit: Lucasfilm via IMDb.com. ]

References

Middler, Jordan (May 19, 2022). Saber Interactive is working on the Star Wars KOTOR remake with Aspyr. Video Games Chronicle.

Robinson, Andy (September 9, 2021). Knights of the Old Republic’s remake isn’t a simple remaster, its developer claims. Video Games Chronicle.

Schreier, Jason (July 26, 2022). Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Game Paused Amid Studio Shakeup. Bloomberg.

StarWars.com (April 25 ,2014) via Wayback Machine. The Legendary Star Wars Expanded Universe Turns a New Page.

Wikipedia. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (video game). (viewed July 27, 2022)