Star Wars KOTOR remake has been a topic of intense discussion among the gaming community. While many are patiently waiting for an update regarding the status of the remake announced back in 2021, it seems lately that the game isn’t going to come out anytime soon.
While talking to his co-host on their weekly Game Mess podcast, oft-cited industry insider Jeff Grubb commented that the remake of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) isn’t “being worked on right now”.
Grubb further elaborated on his comments, stating that this isn’t new information. He also pointed at the fact that Sony has been scrubbing their social media accounts to remove any mentions of the game in question. Sony had taken down the Star Wars KOTOR remake trailers from all its social media profiles, citing ‘music licensing issues’, when the fans became aware of this development.
Since then, the release of this remake has been deemed to be postponed indefinitely, while a small faction of fans still held out hope that they could get their hands on the remake in late 2025.
Considering Grubb’s expertise and industry insight, it does seem valid that the Star Wars KOTOR remake might be scrapped. The remake of this game has had a long and tumultuous journey.
The game was initially being developed by Aspyr Media. However, after an internal demo showcase failed to rouse confidence, the project was taken away from the developer and handed to Embracer Group-owned Saber Interactive in August 2022. However, according to the new revelation by Grubb, it seems that the game isn’t under development at any of the studios at the moment.
Embracer Group Refuses To Announce Any Updates About Star Wars KOTOR Remake
Grubb also stated that the CEO of Embracer Group, Lars Wingefors, has taken a pledge of silence on the matter. The Embracer Group has recently been hit by a wave of layoffs, rounding the number of people they have had to let go since June 2023 to over 900.
In a recent Embracer earnings call, an analyst tried to gauge where the developer stands with respect to the Star Wars KOTOR remake. The game was mentioned in the financial report discussed during the call only as ‘announced’, with no explanation about its development plan. Wingefors simply commented, “I noticed that anything I say to this becomes a headline. So that is my only comment.”
The hosts of the Game Mess Podcast also discussed the position of Embracer Group in all this, wondering if the gaming giant has bitten off more than it could chew. Notably, Embracer Group has acquired around 19 game development and entertainment companies in 2022 alone, including the rights to Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit franchises by acquiring the Middle-Earth Enterprises.
Source: Game Mess Mornings (Podcast dated Nov 17, 2023)
