Development on the troubled Star Wars: KOTOR Remake looks set to continue soon after reports claimed that developer Saber Interactive will split from Embracer Group. The developer will become a privately owned company and plans to continue the game’s development once the deal is complete.

Saber Interactive may get help from other studios on Star Wars: KOTOR Remake

Saber Interactive is set to be sold to a group of private investors in a deal worth up to $500 million according to sources who spoke to Bloomberg. This figure would also allow Saber Interactive to take multiple Embracer subsidiaries alongside them to help with the development of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake.

While part of Embracer Group, several other companies have already been merged into Saber Interactive; these include Demiurge Studios and New World Interactive. However, the sources did not specify which companies could be leaving Embracer alongside Saber.

The deal will be part of cost-cutting measures at Embracer Group following a failed $2 billion investment from a gaming group associated with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. This triggered a spate of layoffs and game cancelations.

Star Wars: KOTOR Remake was rumored to be one of those canceled games. Originally in development at Aspyr Media, development seemed steady until a vertical slice demo of the game was shown to Lucasfilm and Sony. Initial reports suggested both companies were happy with the game’s progress, but then Aspyr’s design director and art director were fired shortly after.

The game was delayed indefinitely before development was transferred to Saber Interactive, who had been assisting Aspyr Media with the remake. Rumors suggested development had ceased completely, although Embracer has always refused to confirm whether these rumors were true. The split from Embracer means Star Wars: KOTOR Remake development finally gets a chance to be completed.

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Development on Star Wars: KOTOR Remake has seemingly ground to a halt at all of Embracer Group’s studios. This likely spells cancellation, according to the latest reports.

The rumors are fueled by Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors’ refusal to talk about the game during the company’s latest financial earnings investor call.

Star Wars: KOTOR Remake is “not being worked on right now”

The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake is “not being worked on in any way at any studio” according to renowned industry insider Jeff Grubb on the latest Game Mess Mornings podcast. During the latest Embracer Group investor call, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha, the publishing group’s CEO refused to clarify the game’s status, simply saying “I noticed that anything I say to this becomes a headline, so that is my only comment.”

The game was delayed indefinitely in 2022. Developer Aspyr Media previously created a vertical slice demo of the game to show to Lucasfilm and Sony. While initial reports suggest both companies were happy with the game’s progress, Aspyr’s design director and art director were fired shortly after.

Star Wars: KOTOR Remake was then passed on to Saber Interactive, the developer that assisted Aspyr Media with the remake. According to Grubb, development was then transferred again to another unnamed Embracer studio before being halted completely.

Since then, Sony has been removing all traces of the PS5 exclusive from the internet, including Twitter and Youtube, although the official reason for this is expired licensing rights on the trailer’s music.

The remake wasn’t the only project to be canceled at Aspyr Media. Development was also halted on the Restored Content DLC for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II on Nintendo Switch. In a recent court case filing, as spotted by Axios, Aspyr said it “believed it would be able to release the content, but a third party objected and Aspyr was unable to do so”. The identity of the third party is unclear.

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Update: Sony has told IGN that it was delisted because it “[delists] assets with licensed music when the licenses expire.”

It looks like the PS5 exclusive Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) Remake is in trouble. Fans have noticed that Sony has been busy scrubbing any mention of the game and its trailers from its social media accounts, including Twitter and YouTube.

What’s going on with PS5’s KOTOR Remake?

Announced as a timed PS5 console exclusive in 2021, KOTOR Remake was originally in development at Aspyr Media in collaboration with Sony Interactive Entertainment and LucasFilm. Its troubles started as early as May 2022 when parent company Embracer Group announced that Saber Interactive had joined the project. Shortly afterward, the game was delayed as Aspyr fired two of its directors.

Rumors then emerged that Embracer had moved KOTOR Remake to a different studio, and reports followed that the game was entirely being developed at Saber Interactive. Since then, there’s been no word on the project or its development progress.

It’s unclear when Sony started removing the game from its social media channels, but given Embracer Group’s recent financial troubles and widespread layoffs and restructuring, things aren’t looking good for the KOTOR Remake. There’s no indication that the game has been canceled, but it doesn’t look like it’ll see the light of day anytime soon.

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The development of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Remake has been a bit rocky of late, but it seems like things are finally settling if the latest rumors are true. Star Wars KOTOR development has reportedly now been transferred entirely to Saber Interactive, the developer that was originally helping Aspyr Media to get the remake completed.

The twists and turns of Star Wars KOTOR Remake development

While Aspyr Media is no longer involved with the game, development hasn’t stopped altogether. Parent company Embracer confirmed last week that “one of the Group’s AAA projects” had been transferred to another studio and it turns out this was indeed Star Wars KOTOR Remake. According to “a person familiar with the change who asked not to be identified [by Bloomberg] because the details are private”, development has now been transferred to Saber Interactive. Embracer is adamant there will be no “material delays” resulting from the transition, but many have their doubts. Bearing in mind the game doesn’t have a release window, though, there could easily be a delay and we’d never know.

Originally announced last September, the game had actually been in development at Aspyr Media since 2019. After three years, the studio had produced a vertical slice demo of the game for Lucasfilm and Sony, but while people seemed pleased with development on the surface, underneath trouble was brewing. Saber Interactive was brought on board in May to help Star Wars KOTOR Remake along before development was halted altogether last month.

While there are many rumors as to whose displeasure eventually led to the game being stopped — Embracer Group, Sony, Walt Disney, and Aspyr Media themselves have all been named at some point — the decision led to the dismissal of two directors. Some staff at Aspyr had hoped to be able to continue development on the game, but it seems like this won’t be the case.

In other news, Project CARS and Project CARS 2 are being delisted due to licensing issues and fans are displeased. Elsewhere, the MultiVersus player count has smashed through the 20 million mark.

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The fate of the Star Wars KOTOR remake has become a heated topic of speculation ever since Embracer Group made a statement in its latest interim Q1 financial report. The company, which announced earlier today that it was acquiring eight studios, stated that it had moved one of its triple-A games to another developer “within the Group.” This has triggered speculation that the game in question has to be the KOTOR remake based on prior reporting by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, but a tweet from him has cast considerable doubt on this initial assumption.

Why the KOTOR remake may not be the game referenced

The original statement from Embracer Group’s financial report reads:

One of the Group’s AAA projects has transitioned to another studio within the Group. This was done to ensure the quality bar is where we need it to be for the title. We are not expecting any material delays for the title based on this transition.

As previously reported, the reason why some speculate that this project is the Star Wars KOTOR remake is because, according to Schreier’s article, some Asypr employees were hoping that Saber Interactive would take over development of the game.

For a quick refresher, Aspyr had fired two of the remake’s directors in late July despite Sony and Lucasfilm being impressed by a recent vertical slice demo of the game. But the remake has now apparently been put on hold indefinitely with Aspyr looking for new contracts and development opportunities. Saber Interactive had already been doing outsourcing work for the game, so as Schreier wrote, “some at Aspyr believe that Saber… may take it over completely.”

If you believe that an entire-ass video game can just seamlessly switch developers without any delays, I've got a Wookiee to sell you https://t.co/x8G4h6n55B

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) August 18, 2022

This led to a thread on Resetera saying that Embracer had confirmed that the KOTOR remake was the project that was moved. Some journalists like Stephen Totilo from Axios believed that the pieces fit as well based on Scheier’s work.

However, Schreier then said in a tweet posted above that “[i]f you believe that an entire-ass video game can just seamlessly switch developers without any delays, I’ve got a Wookiee to sell you.” In other replies, he says he has no firsthand knowledge that KOTOR is the game being referenced. The Resetera thread has since updated its title to say that Embracer Group has moved some AAA game to another studio without naming the remake.

In other news, Hogwarts Legacy has posted an ASMR video that may have clues or easter eggs about the game, and Nintendo was working on a multiplatform controller several years ago.

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The Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Remake is reported to be in serious trouble after Aspyr Media fired two of the project’s directors. Apparently, the Star Wars KOTOR Remake is now indefinitely delayed and the developer is looking for new contracts and development opportunities.

Star Wars KOTOR Remake delay is surprising

Star Wars KOTOR Remake was in development at Aspyr Media for almost three years before it was indefinitely delayed. According to Bloomberg, Aspyr showed off a vertical slice demo of the game to Lucasfilm and Sony, who were pleased with the game’s progress and believed the project was hitting its targets. A week later, Aspyr fired design director Brad Prince and art director Jason Minor, a decision that seems to be unexpected. Sources then claim the Aspyr studio heads themselves were not happy with the game’s progress and that it was taking up too much time and money.

The fate of the game is now in doubt. Aspyr employees claim they’ve been told the company is now looking for new contracts and development opportunities and Star Wars KOTOR Remake has been put on hold indefinitely. Saber Interactive had been brought in to help out on the game and some Aspyr employees are hoping Saber takes over the development of the project completely. Either way, the game will definitely not be hitting its original release window for the end of 2022. If development continues, 2025 would be a more accurate release window now. Both Aspyr Media and parent company Embracer have refused to comment.

In other news, Sony is reported to be “really interested” in acquiring Square Enix Japan but not in their western studios, hence why they were sold at a low price. Elsewhere, Sony gave us an early look at the user experience in PSVR 2, including customizable play spaces.

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Embracer Group has revealed that Saber Interactive has joined Aspyr in the development of the Star Wars: KOTOR Remake, which is scheduled to be a PS5 timed exclusive. Board member Matthew Karch announced the news during the Q4 financial report for the parent company.

Star Wars: KOTOR Remake developers are making the game from scratch

During the nearly three-hour financial report available on YouTube, Karch said that Embracer Group understood that Aspyr needed help on the project:

Aspyr has gone full in to make this the best game that they can make. When [Embracer Group] acquired Aspyr, we knew from the start that they would require our assistance.

Saber has tremendous expertise in creating these types of products. We’ve done it on Halo – on multiple Halo products – so we’re been spending a lot of time working with them to bring this title over.

Karch also explained that, due to the original RPG’s age, that a remake would require Aspyr and Saber Interactive to remake it from scratch. He admits that “it’s a massive, massive product.” No release date was announced for the game; however, it may have a presence at the upcoming Summer Games Fest which is set to arrive on June 9.

The Star Wars: KOTOR Remake was announced during a PlayStation Showcase in September last year, and it was quickly revealed that EA and BioWare, the original developer of the game, would not be involved with the project. That said, the Aspyr team does include developers who worked on the original KOTOR game. Also, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games are aiding the development team to ensure that the remake for this classic Star Wars adventure meets the lofty expectations of its fans.

In other news, Norman Reedus has revealed that he has started work on Death Stranding 2, the PlayStation London Studio is working on a magic-based fantasy game, and Syphon Filter will be released on PS Plus Premium with a Platinum Trophy.

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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake is being built “from the ground up” to bring it into the modern age of gaming. Not only does this mean a graphics upgrade, it seems like the gameplay is getting quite an overhaul too. According to the latest rumors, the remake will be scrapping the original’s take on a turn-based combat system for a more action-based approach instead.

How will the Star Wars: KOTOR Remake gameplay change?

The Star Wars: KOTOR – Remake is being built “from the ground up with the latest tech to match the groundbreaking standard of innovation established by the original”. YouTuber MrMattyPlays claims his sources have said the remake may no longer have combat that features some form of taking turns, instead opting for a completely action-based combat system. The system is apparently drawing inspiration from games like God of War and Nioh 2.

This information was backed up by a couple of job listings from Aspyr Media to work on a AAA RPG. The first was for a Combat Designer where the ideal candidate will “create engaging encounters in a rich and immersive world” and needs experience in “defining combat roles and crafting AI behaviors to build interesting enemies and bosses”. The second is for an AI Engineer who will specifically be working on a AAA action RPG. While there is always the chance that the developer is just upgrading the existing combat system, other remakes like Final Fantasy VII Remake have proven that changing a combat system is possible without being detrimental to the game. Regardless, take the rumor with a pinch of salt.

In other news, PUBG: Battlegrounds has switched to a free-to-play model and introduced some changes with today’s update. Elsewhere, Sony has asked UK retailers to remove PlayStation Now cards in a hint towards the potential introduction of Project Spartacus.

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Yesterday’s PlayStation Showcase was full of trailers for upcoming PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 games, some of which were complete surprises. According to analysis of YouTube views by @BenjiSales on Twitter, God of War Ragnarok proved to be the most popular trailer, closely followed by the reveal of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Coming in third was the surprise tease of Marvel’s Wolverine.

Most viewed Trailers after 24 hours from yesterday’s PlayStation Showcase on YouTube

God of War Ragnarok – 10+ million
Spider-Man 2 – 9+ million
Marvel’s Wolverine – 7 million
KOTOR Remake – 3+ million
Gran Turismo 7 – 1+ million
Forspoken – 1 million pic.twitter.com/TI1CusMWPP

— Benji-Sales (@BenjiSales) September 10, 2021

God of War Ragnarok finally got an official name and was confirmed to be the “finale of the Norse Saga.” Somewhat more surprising was the announcement that Cory Barlog would not be directing the game as he’s currently working on another project that can’t be revealed yet. The gameplay reveal trailer accumulated more than 10 million views across all YouTube channels that had uploaded the trailer, proving to be the most popular game of the night.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was another game some people expected to be at the show, although they weren’t expecting a collaboration between Peter Parker and Miles Morales, nor were they expecting the appearance of Venom. The brief trailer racked up more than 9 million views across all YouTube channels. The trailer on the PlayStation channel attracted 5.9 million views on its own, more than many other games got across all channels.

In third place was the surprise reveal of Marvel’s Wolverine, which will be exclusive to PlayStation 5. The game is in the very early stages of development and all we got was a brief teaser trailer, but this garnered around 7 million views. Other notable mentions include the confirmation of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake that gained more than 3 million views, the release date trailer for Gran Turismo 7 that passed the 1 million mark comfortably, and the story trailer for Forspoken that reached around 1 million views. BenjiSales didn’t include Grand Theft Auto V‘s PS5 trailer in his analysis but our own number crunching reveals this trailer also passed the 1 million mark comfortably.

Notably, all of the above figures included YouTube trailers that had racked up more than 100,000 views but did not include content “like reaction videos”. It also didn’t include any of the people that watched the livestreams. However, if you missed any of yesterday’s show and want to add to the viewership numbers, you can catch up with all of the news in our PlayStation Showcase roundup. Or perhaps check out the things that didn’t show up in the event.

[Source: Twitter]

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Opening yesterday’s PlayStation Showcase was the announcement of a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake in development for PS5 by Aspyr Media. But it looks like original developer BioWare and publisher EA aren’t involved in the project. The Game Awards organizer and host Geoff Keighley reached out to BioWare and EA to inquire about their involvement after the initial announcement on the PlayStation Blog failed to mention either of the companies at all. (The trailer also only ended with logos for Aspyr, PlayStation, and Lucasfilm Games.)

The reply Keighley received from an EA spokesperson was a non-answer that talked a lot around the subject, never directly answering his inquiry.

I asked Bioware (and EA) if they are involved in the STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC remake announced yesterday and just received this response.

So I guess that’s a no? pic.twitter.com/mwa1FDdbjE

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) September 10, 2021

The reply from EA in full reads:

We are proud of our long-standing collaboration with Lucasfilm Games, which will continue for years to come. Our talented teams have created some of the most successful games in the history of the Star Wars franchise, including Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars: Battlefront, Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Star Wars: Squadrons. We love Star Wars and look forward to creating more exciting experiences for players to enjoy.

In listing out the “successful” games, the EA spokesperson does not mention BioWare’s beloved Knights of the Old Republic from 2003 (though the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic is loosely part of that series). They do not directly address Keighley’s question about if the developer or publisher are involved with the PS5 remake, which is leading most people to assume that they are not.

EA recently lost exclusive video game rights for the Star Wars license, with Disney forming Lucasfilm Games to give many publishers and developers the opportunity to play around in that universe. While EA won’t be creating Star Wars title exclusively anymore, they do still retain a number of successful Star Wars franchises that they continue to work with in various capacities (it’s rumored a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is in development).

Given that EA originally said that none of its new Star Wars games would be announced until next year, this makes it even more unlikely that they have any involvement with the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake. How exactly Lucasfilm Games came to hand the rights to KoTOR off to Aspyr and PlayStation is currently unknown. Previously an Xbox console exclusive, the limited-time PS5 exclusivity of the KoTOR remake is a massive shift for the title.

It also calls into question Knights of the Old Republic’s place within Star Wars canon. After Disney took over in 2014, it relegated all previous expanded media to the “Star Wars Legends” label that it declared was no longer canon. This included Knights of the Old Republic’s story. However, the Remake under Lucasfilm Games could indicate that it is being reintroduced to the canon, though the developer promises it will remain faithful to its original story and characters. Aspyr has also gathered a veteran team of Star Wars developers, some who even worked on the original game, so rest assured it’s in good hands.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake currently doesn’t have a release date.

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