KOTR Remake It is still in development but still more than a year out. |UP|Saber Interactive CEO Says KOTOR Remake Is 'Alive and Well

[Gamernyc78]

Update 4/2

Saber Interactive CEO Says KOTOR Remake Is 'Alive and Well' - IGN

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake is one of gaming's most elusive projects. But we finally have a real, concrete update on what's going on. Saber Interactive is still working on it, and according to the CEO, it's "alive and well."

www.ign.com

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake is one of gaming's most elusive projects. Announced in 2021, the long-awaited remake has changed hands multiple times, seemingly stopped development and restarted again, and after six years of development has yet to manifest. Fortunately, we finally have a real, concrete update on what's going on. Saber Interactive is still working on it, and according to the CEO, it's "alive and well."

Speaking to IGN in an interview today, Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch confirmed that the company took KOTOR with it during its split from Embracer Group, and that the game is still in active development.

"It's clear and it's obivous that we're working on this," he said. "It's been in the press numerous times. What I will say is that the game is alive and well, and we're dedicated to making sure we exceed consumer expectations."

Karch would not offer further details, but in an investor call following the announcement of Saber's departure, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors implied the KOTOR remake may still be a long way away. The game has undergone a long limbo, having been announced in 2021 after three years of development at Aspyr, paused indefinitely due to lack of progress, and revived again at Saber Interactive. There have been minimal official updates since.

We spoke with Karch on a number of other topics surrounding Saber Interactive's recent departure from Embracer Group, which saw Karch acquire it back via his own holding company, Beacon Interactive. Included in the deal were at least 38 video game projects, over 3,000 employees, and studios such as Nimble Giant, Mad Head Games, Slipgate, New World Interactive, 3D Realms, and all Saber-branded studios.

Check back here at IGN tomorrow for more from our interview with Karch, including his thoughts on Saber's initial merger with Embracer and its recent split, the status of a number of other Saber games, as well as the future of Saber and Beacon Interactive.

Update 3/14/24

Embracer suggests Star Wars: KotOR remake isn’t coming out for over a year | VGC

It says a triple-A game based on a major license “needs some deep love and respect”…

www.videogameschronicle.com

The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake is reportedly still in development at Saber Interactive, but it doesn’t sound like it will be released in the next 12 months.

The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake is reportedly still in development at Saber Interactive, but it doesn’t sound like it will be released in the next 12 months.

Nevertheless, when the deal closes and Embracer and Saber part ways, KotOR is expected to be a jointly held asset between the companies.

In today’s announcement of the deal, Embracer said its retained assets, “including two joint projects with the buyer”, include “a previously announced AAA game based on a major license.”

In a conference call discussing the deal, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors was quizzed about the jointly held AAA project on a couple of occasions.

One analyst asked if it was expected to come out in the next 12 months or whether it was a more distant release.

“No, I think that kind of game needs some deep love and respect, so without giving full colour, I think it’s some time left until that is released,” Wingefors said.

The next questioner said they thought it’s fair to say that the AAA game in question is the KoTOR remake. “Is that the case and who will be in charge of it because I think it was transferred to Saber?” they asked.

Wingefors responded by saying he had no further comments on the licenced game.

Billed as a collaboration between Aspyr and production partners Lucasfilm Games and Sony Interactive Entertainment, the game was announced as a timed PS5 console exclusive during a PlayStation Showcase event in September 2021.



Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Remake is still in development

Update 3/1/24



The company plans to continue developing a remake of Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic, the highly anticipated game that was removed from its previous developer Aspyr Media in 2022.

Embracer Group to Sell Saber, Developer of a New ‘Star Wars’ Game Remake, in $500 Million Deal

Saber will continue developing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

www.bloomberg.com

 

[Bryank75]

Well that is f****** great, I know Bluepoint wasn't available but they were the right people to do this... not some cowboys at Aspyr!

It coulda been such a massive exclusive (semi-exclusive).

 

[flaccidsnake]

Aspyr has always been a bit dodgy.

As much as I'd like to see a Bluepoint-style remake, I'd settle for a PC update that fixed widescreen modes and had xinput controller support. The game is still reasonably pretty on PC, it's just got old-game cruft similar to Splinter Cell Chaos Theory or Morrowind.

 

[John Elden Ring]

Game is more dead than my marriage.

 

[Danja1187]

This is why Studios like Bluepoint and Nixxies should have been expanded to take on projects like these.

 

[flaccidsnake]

This is why Studios like Bluepoint and Nixxies should have been expanded to take on projects like these.

Nixxes is working on Horizon Forbidden West, probably the best thing they could be doing. We don't know what Bluepoint is up to other than "original content", but it's probably something big.

 

[Gods&Monsters]

They also fired 900 employees and the news is not big enough to report.

The 100 people at Bungie look more and more like a hitjob against Sony everyday

 

[Zzero]

They also fired 900 employees and the news is not big enough to report.

The 100 people at Bungie look more and more like a hitjob against Sony everyday

Wait, new ones or overall? Because every one of their recent closues/fat trimmings has been news.

 

[Danja1187]

Nixxes is working on Horizon Forbidden West, probably the best thing they could be doing. We don't know what Bluepoint is up to other than "original content", but it's probably something big.

Which is why I said they should have been expanded so they can take these projects in-house.

 

[Say1nMan]

Game should be put to rest. Plus, not to mention the roller coaster history of a KOTOR remake trying to get made. Also, the game would have been forced to be officially canon with Star Wars and I think trying to do that would have been messy considering this is a game that was going to have choices and consequences and branching paths.

 

[KiryuRealty]

Why the fuck would the CEO of a publisher’s parent company be expected to be that deep in the weeds that he would know any details about a project in production?

It is miles beneath his field of view and a tiny cog in the machine he runs.

 

[Gods&Monsters]

Wait, new ones or overall? Because every one of their recent closues/fat trimmings has been news.

Yes it made the news but it was forgotten after 5 minutes with barely any interest. No investigation by journalists, interviews, outrage or boycotts.

Surely you see the difference between a random article that wasn't widely reported and what happened with Bungie? Be honest.

Embracer Group announces layoff of 900 more employees following Q2 2023

These new layoffs continue to be part of Embracer's ongoing restructuring, which have already seen several studios closed or downsized.

www.shacknews.com

 

[Yurinka]

This is why Studios like Bluepoint and Nixxies should have been expanded to take on projects like these.

Bluepoint and Nixxes have been acquired by Sony, not by Embracer (the publisher in charge of making the remaster / remake) or Lucasarts (the IP owner).

Seems that Sony only signed a deal to get a (timed?) console exclusive and publish it on PS5.

Nixxes is working on Horizon Forbidden West, probably the best thing they could be doing. We don't know what Bluepoint is up to other than "original content", but it's probably something big.

Regarding Bluepoint, we know that after Demon's Souls they worked on GoW Ragnarok with basically all the studio crew credited in the game. It's fair to assume that in their next game they'll also be in a support role because even if they did grow and hired a few designers they still don't have a big enough design department to be the lead studio on a AAA game.

Pretty likely they'll work as support studio in a new game/DLC or two more while they keep growing to be big enough to make their own AAA games as lead studio. The have key people who back in the time worked in games like Metroid Prime games, Mario Kart 7, Diablo 2 or World of Warcraft to mention a few of them.

 

[Zzero]

Yes it made the news but it was forgotten after 5 minutes with barely any interest. No investigation by journalists, interviews, outrage or boycotts.

Surely you see the difference between a random article that wasn't widely reported and what happened with Bungie? Be honest.

Embracer Group announces layoff of 900 more employees following Q2 2023

These new layoffs continue to be part of Embracer's ongoing restructuring, which have already seen several studios closed or downsized.

www.shacknews.com

I really don't. Your interpretation of the reaction to the embracer news is way off, it was a big deal when that deal fell through and they had their disastrous earnings call a few days later. I'd personally compare it more to the Epic news anyway, and those had similar reach.

 

[Vertigo]

Game should be put to rest. Plus, not to mention the roller coaster history of a KOTOR remake trying to get made. Also, the game would have been forced to be officially canon with Star Wars and I think trying to do that would have been messy considering this is a game that was going to have choices and consequences and branching paths.

Correct. It’ll have to fall into new fake Disney canon. Effectively being a reboot and not a remake. And not be a “choose your own adventure.”

Is that what we want?

This is vapoware anyway. Embracer is just a scam operation. Hopefully Sony has terminated the deal tbh.

 

[Gamernyc78]

Ost in the Infinite black hole.

 

[Jim Ryan]

 

[Gamernyc78]

...

 

[Yurinka]

This is why Studios like Bluepoint and Nixxies should have been expanded to take on projects like these.

I think it's better to keep them where they are, working with Sony IPs.

Star Wars KOTOR is a Disney IP developed by Embracer, where Sony signed console exclusivity and publishing of the PS version and someone else publishing it on PC.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

I wonder how relevant Star Wars will be, by the time this game releases.


I don't think it's impossible to see Star Wars implode after Disney doubles down and pushes another Rey full feature movie that no one asked for and probably no one's going to see.