The development of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake doesn’t seem to be going as well as planned.
Sources with Bloomberg have claimed that the new Star Wars game is in “serious trouble,” so much so that it’s been “delayed indefinitely.” The developer behind the remake, Aspyr Media, has also reportedly fired two key developers, design director Brad Prince and art director Jason Minor, who were reportedly let go early this month.
Much of this appears to have been prompted by a demo of the game that Aspyr was planning to show to production partners Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC and Sony Group Corp. The developer’s own leadership was apparently unhappy at what they saw.
Aspyr’s studio heads told staff that the vertical slice wasn’t where they wanted it to be and that the project would be paused, according to two people who were in the meeting. One person familiar with the discussions suggested that a disproportionate amount of time and money had gone into the demo and that the project’s current course wasn’t sustainable. Another point of contention may be the timeline. At the outset of development, Aspyr told staff and partners it would release the game by the end of 2022, according to two people familiar with production. Developers said a more realistic target now would be 2025.
The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake has been in development for at least three years. An announcement shared by Aspyr in September 2021 suggested that the project was in good hands, with the studio having sought “the very best talent” to work on the remake.
Aspyr has assembled the very best talent from across the industry to create Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake – industry veterans who have worked on great RPGs, as well as some members of the original Knights of the Old Republic development team. Their knowledge and passion for these characters, this story, and this world is unmatched. And just who is Aspyr? You probably know us as the studio responsible for bringing multiple Star Wars games to modern systems, including Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Star Wars: Episode I – Racer, Star Wars: Republic Commando, and, yes, the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic!
Saber Interactive joined the development of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake in May 2022. There is speculation that Saber will take over the project completely.
The game will be exclusive to PlayStation 5 consoles at launch, assuming that it even releases.
Source: Bloomberg