Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors reportedly had no comment when he was asked for an update on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake was initially announced by Lucasfilm Games, PlayStation and Aspyr during a PlayStation Showcase back in 2021.
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At the time Aspyr Lead Producer Ryan Treadwell revealed the game would be a complete remake. Treadwell was asked, “Is this like a remaster of the original game? What’s going on here?”
He responded, “It’s so much more, Sid. This is a complete remake of this beloved Star Wars story. For Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake, we are rebuilding from the ground up while maintaining that integrity and story from the original.”
Shuman then asked, “So Ryan, how much of a remake are we talking about here? Is this updating some graphics? Adding some higher resolution modes?”
Treadwell responded, “You know the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a true classic and one of our favorite Star Wars story ever. We want to honor that original story and make it as impactful for players today.”
“In terms of the visuals we have the opportunity to present this story with a much higher level of fidelity than was possible in the past while making sure that we are being authentic to what players loved about that original game,” he added.
It would then be rumored by YouTuber MrMattyPlays that the game would feature a number of race and species changes.
He explained, “On the story front, I was told that they’re staying faithful to the main story outside of some changes to characters like race, species, name, age. But that’s not going to apply to anyone connected to the main plot.”
By May 2022, Embracer Group’s board member Matthew Karch announced that Evil Dead developer Saber Interactive was working with Aspyr on the remake.
He said during the company’s Q4 report, “Aspyr has gone full in to make this the best game that they can make. When we acquired Aspyr, we knew from the start that they would require our assistance [and] Saber has tremendous expertise in creating these types of products.”
Karch added, “We’re fully confident that the game is going to be fantastic but it’s a massive, massive product and massive products require a lot of effort and a lot of time to make good. And especially when you’re talking about a game already old – very old – we’ve basically had to remake that game from scratch.”
By July 2022, there was a rumor that the game had been indefinitely paused. Jason Schreier at Bloomberg reported that following a demo for executives at the end of June, Aspyr’s Design Director Brad Prince and Art Director Jason Minor were fired.
Following these firings, Schreier reported, “Aspyr’s studio heads told staff that the vertical slice wasn’t where they wanted it to be and that the project would be paused, according to two people who were in the meeting.”
He added, “One person familiar with the discussions suggested that a disproportionate amount of time and money had gone into the demo and that the project’s current course wasn’t sustainable.”
By August 2022, another rumor from Schreier at Bloomberg suggested that the game’s entire production had shifted from Aspyr to Saber. Schreier claimed, “The project, formerly in development at Austin, Texas-based Aspyr Media, is now being led by one of Saber Interactive’s Eastern European studios, according to a person familiar with the change who asked not to be identified because the details are private.”
This rumor came after Embracer announced in a financial report that “one of the Group’s AAA projects has transitioned to another studio within the Group.” Embracer also explained the transition saying, “This was done to ensure the quality bar is where we need it to be for the title.”
Now, during the company’s most recent Q4, Wngefors was asked, “Could please clarify the current status of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake in regards to its development status and what shape is it in?”
Wingefors responded, “Favorite question. I have no further comments.”
What do you make of Wingefors’ not providing any comment on Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic Remake?
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