Fans waiting for the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake finally have a small sign of life regarding the project’s status from Tim Willits, the chief creative officer at Saber Interactive. The community has been eager for any news on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic reimagining since its debut nearly half a decade ago.
The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake first came to light during a 2021 Sony PlayStation Showcase, with the debut of a cinematic teaser. Originally, the development was led by Aspyr Media, a team known for bringing classic titles to modern systems, but it was quickly hit by significant roadblocks. Over the years, the project moved between different studios under the Embracer Group umbrella, leading to widespread speculation about whether the game would ever see the light of day or had been abandoned completely.
Old Development Images From Aspyr’s KOTOR Remake Surface Online
Images from Aspyr’s version of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake appear, giving a hint as to what the game would have been like.
A Brief But Vital Progress Report
The silence was finally broken during a recent conversation between IGN and Willits. When asked about the future of the massive RPG, Willits provided a short but definitive answer: “Yes, it is still in development. That’s all I can say.” While this isn’t the deep dive or gameplay reveal many were hoping for, it confirms the project is still alive and well within the studio, even if they aren’t ready to show anything new just yet.
This update has been a long time coming, as these annual check-ins have become a bit of a running joke within the community. Since the 2021 announcement, there have been similar brief confirmations in 2023, 2024, and 2025, but very little actual gameplay footage has been seen. For a title that is being rebuilt from the ground up for the PlayStation 5 and PC, the lack of visual updates has made many loyal followers nervous about the final result.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’s development history is complicated. The troubles began in mid-2022 after a vertical slice demo was shown to partners at Sony and Lucasfilm. While the developers were reportedly happy with the progress, the studio heads at Aspyr felt the project was not meeting the necessary standards. This led to the firing of key leaders, including design director Brad Prince and art director Jason Minor. Shortly after, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was moved to Saber Interactive in August 2022. This transition meant that Saber inherited whatever state the game was in at the time, and they have been working to stabilize the production ever since.
More recent rumors have suggested that the development might have shifted yet again or expanded to other teams. In late 2025, Stephen Totilo reported that the reins may have been passed to Mad Head Games, the team currently working on Hellraiser: Revival. This same report also brought to light exciting, though distant, plans for a remake of the sequel. Douglas Reilly, the vice president of Lucasfilm Games, confirmed that they had been discussing a project codenamed “Juliet.” Reilly described it as a plan to “do a full remake of KOTOR II with modern art, modern gameplay,” while keeping the original characters and story intact for modern machines. However, it seems unlikely that work on a sequel will pick up speed until the first remake is much closer to completion.
The ambition for the remake remains high, despite the many delays and changes in leadership. Producer Ryan Treadwell previously stated that the goal is to rebuild the title “from the ground up with the latest tech” to ensure it stands alongside the best modern releases. Fans are particularly curious to see how the combat will be updated. Past rumors suggested the team might offer two different combat modes to please both old-school fans of the original’s “real-time with pause” system and newcomers who prefer modern action. However, because the developers are being so secretive, the question now shifts to whether 2027 will continue this trend of vague updates.
Even though the news is minimal, the confirmation from Willits keeps hope alive for one of the most beloved stories in the Star Wars galaxy. This reassurance is important for a community that has seen many high-profile projects vanish or get delayed indefinitely in recent months. For now, players will have to settle for the knowledge that the project hasn’t been scrapped and that the team at Saber Interactive is still “dedicated to making sure we exceed consumer expectations.” Whether we will see a full trailer later this year or simply another confirmation next spring is uncertain, but for many, even a small update is better than total silence.
- Released
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July 15, 2003
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Violence
