During the September 2021 PlayStation Showcase, the show opened with a huge announcement: A remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is on the way, and it's being built for the PlayStation 5 and PC. The game is being developed by Aspyr, with Sony Interactive Entertainment providing additional investment and support.
It's early days right now but it's already clear that if handled well, this could be one of the best PC games available. Here's everything we know about the upcoming Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake so far.
What is the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake?
The original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (or KOTOR) was developed by BioWare and launched in 2003 for Xbox and PC. It tells the tale of Darth Revan and Darth Malak, two Sith Lords who amass an armada to destroy the Republic, 4,000 years before the events of the nine mainline Star Wars films. A full-on Sith-Jedi war erupts, and the galaxy is thrown into turmoil. A sequel called Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords was developed by Obsidian and released in 2005.
The story was critically acclaimed, and the game is frequently cited as one of the best role-playing games of all time, with clever writing, plot twists and memorable characters.
In the original game, players could customize their character, choosing a man or a woman and learning distinct Force powers. As it is a turn-based role-playing game, players could also choose how to make decisions and whether or not they'd align with the Dark or Light sides of the Force. A ragtag team of characters fill out the party, including the Jedi Bastila Shan, who was voiced by Jennifer Hale. Hale is confirmed to be returning for the remake, and she even provide the narration for the teaser trailer.
"I can confirm that that is Jennifer Hale. We all think the world of Jennifer. She is an amazing talent and immediately slipped back into the role of Bastila when she came to help us with the teaser trailer," says Ryan Treadwell, lead producer at Aspyr. "I do think that you're going to see some other familiar voices return, but that's probably as deep as we're gonna go on that one right now."
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is being developed by Aspyr with insight from Disney and Lucasfilm Games. Aspyr is a Texas studio that has previously handled remasters of numerous games. This is easily the biggest project that Aspyr has worked on yet however, in budget and scope. Aspyr staffed up to work on this game, hiring developers who can work on modern role-playing games, as well as some of the team that worked on the original version of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
According to the developers at Aspyr, speaking on PlayStation Blog, the idea behind this remake is to make a game full of innovation while also "staying true to its revered story." The game is also being pitched as friendly to both series veterans and newcomers alike.
The game is also very early in development right now and is referred to as a "tremendous undertaking."
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake trailers
The initial teaser trailer was revealed during the September 2021 PlayStation Showcase, which you can check out below:
The teaser is brief but does mark the return of the ever-iconic Darth Revan, a fan-favorite Sith Lord.
"Revan looks really cool," says Orion Kellogg, executive producer at Lucasfilm Games. "We can't forget that."
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake gameplay
Right now, it's not clear what the gameplay of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake will be like. The original game uses turn-based gameplay heavily based on a D20 system. Given the emphasis by the developers on making this a modern role-playing game (RPG), it seems very possible that the turn-based gameplay will be abandoned in favor of a more action-RPG approach.
Aspyr says it is building this game "for a new generation with modern tech, features, visuals and more." We'll have to wait to see just how far these changes go.
Is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake a PS5 exclusive?
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a PS5 console launch exclusive, meaning that it'll also be available on PC at launch. Other consoles like Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will likely eventually get the game sometime after the exclusivity period has ended.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake is a timed PS5 console exclusive because of the investment Sony is putting into the game. The PS5 version of the game appears to be published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
"Having SIE on board has been fantastic," Kellogg says. "They're helping all of us navigate this space and navigate their hardware with an inside track on the cutting edge."
What is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake's release date?
Right now, the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake doesn't have a release date or even a vague release window. Per the developers, it's pretty clear that the game is early in development, so hopefully we'll have a better idea of when it will launch in the future.
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