An early cinematic for the canceled Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake has apparently leaked online, offering hints at what Aspyr was planning to do with the game. Released in 2003 on the original Xbox, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is widely considered one of the greatest video games of all-time. The game quickly earned a huge fan following, with a direct sequel released in 2004.
A Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake was announced for PS5 in 2021, with Aspyr handling the game's development duties. A year later, it was revealed that Aspyr's version of the remake was scrapped, with development duties shifting to Saber Interactive, instead. The current state of the game is a mystery, with many Star Wars fans speculating that it might never actually be released.
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A New Look at Aspyr's KOTOR Remake
Over the years, elements from Aspyr's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake have leaked, including concept art and development images. Now it seems an early cinematic for the game has also made its way online. According to MP1st, the cinematic was discovered through the portfolio of an artist that previously worked at Aspyr. The video in question still needed a lot of work, as the characters and voices are placeholders, and the environments are unfinished. However, fans of KOTOR can still glean some interesting things from the video.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
For one thing, it seems the remake would have opened in a fashion similar to the original game. In the cinematic, the player character is being escorted by Trask Ulgo, as the Ender Spire finds itself under attack. The two plan to meet up with Carth Onasi, but must reestablish communications first. In an interesting change from the original game, it seems that Aspyr was planning to have the player character fully voiced, in addition to the rest of the cast. However, it's impossible to know if that would have been the case for the finished product, given that the voice work is clearly meant as a placeholder.
In March, Saber Interactive confirmed that its version of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake is still in development. Given the messy development cycle, fans can hardly be blamed for being skeptical. Nearly five years have passed since the initial announcement, and four years since Saber started things over from scratch. It's possible Saber and parent company Embracer Group are waiting until the game is far into development before showing the game off, to avoid negative publicity for the project. However, there's no way of knowing for certain.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
No one quite knows what to make of the KOTOR remake, but that doesn't mean it's all bad news; a spiritual successor to the series was announced last year. Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic will reunite several KOTOR veterans, including director Casey Hudson. A release date for the project has not been announced, but Hudson has made it clear that he wants the game available before 2030. For multiple reasons, that might be ambitious, and it will be interesting to see which of these games will be released first.
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